While currently in the middle of an acoustic tour during which Son Volt is previewing songs from its third album, "Wide Swing Tremolo," singer and guitarist Jay Farrar says he has had a lot of time to ponder the meanings behind the band's road songs.

Son Volt recorded "Tremolo," which arrives in stores this week, in a converted rehearsal space situated near Farrar's home, and the frontman told MTV News Online that being so close to familiar environs influenced many of the themes of the new material, including that of the first single, "Driving the View."

"On our previous two records," Farrar told MTV News, "a lot of the stuff I was writing ended up being road songs, songs about traveling and being away, because we had been on tour so much during those early years."

"'Driving the View,' on the other hand, is very much a quintessential road song, but it's actually about riding around in my neighborhood, near where the places I live, and all the imagery brought forth from that. It's very much a home-body tune."

Farrar and the rest of Son Volt will head back to their homes for a short rest following its last acoustic concert, slated for October 8 in Minneapolis. The band will then kick off a new, more amplified tour on October 22 that will travel through the West Coast before heading overseas for a handful of German shows.

The dates for Son Volt's fall North American tour:

  • 10/22 - Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theater
  • 10/23 - Fayetteville, AR @ JR's Dickson Street Ballroom
  • 10/24 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
  • 10/26 - Albuquerque, NM @ Zone
  • 10/28 - Tempe, AZ @ Gibson's
  • 10/29 - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
  • 10/30 - Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater
  • 10/31 - Milwaukee, WI @ Rave
  • 11/2 - West Hollywood, CA @ House Of Blues
  • 11/4 - San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore
  • 11/5 - Portland, OR @ La Luna
  • 11/6 - Seattle, WA @ Show Box
  • 11/7 - Vancouver, BC @ Starfish Room