Nine years ago, Dan Wilson's band Semisonic had a huge radio hit with "Closing Time," a song that frat boys around the country took as an ode to drunken debauchery. It was actually about the desperate search for meaningful companionship, but never mind. Semisonic's album, Feeling Strangely Fine, went platinum. But after the follow-up CD, All About Chemistry, bombed, the record company dropped the group. You'd have expected Wilson to promptly fade into the one-hit-wonder ether after this, but he stayed focused and took on writing and producing gigs with Mike Doughty, Jason Mraz, and Jewel. He even contributed six songs to the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way and won a Song of the Year Grammy for co-writing the deliciously defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice." But Wilson's own music remains his passion. His solo debut, Free Life, came out last month. The CD is a genial and stripped-down discourse on existentialism, showcasing Wilson's introspective lyrics and frequent falsetto. It won't have drunken frat guys singing along like they did to "Closing Time," but it is more suited to Wilson's poignant, subtle talents.
