Old 97's front man Rhett Miller is geared up to release his second solo album on February 28th. The title track "The Believer" stems from his reaction to the suicide of Elliott Smith. The Believer is to follow a path very similar to his first outing The Instigator. He includes the loneliness, spirited hooks and the upbeat country laced tunes supporting love gone bad. He even shares the spotlight on "Firefly" with the lovely Rachael Yamagata.

When asked about the direction of this new effort, Miller stated, "When I was making The Instigator, I was at the beginning of this big life change where I was going from a full-time road dog to having a home and family existence, but on this album -- It's like you go through your whole life thinking that true love is a fucking sham created by Hallmark, and then one day you say, 'Why don't I try it? Why don't I let go?' And then you're here, and it's a fucking great place."

Jon Brion produced and Matt Chamberlain (Fiona Apple, Tori Amos) lent his drum chops to The Believer. Miller is planning on launching a mega tour to promote the new work.

Source: Rolling Stone