Chris Shiflett Takes a Sanity Check in Roaring New Song ‘This Ol’ World’

“Has this ol’ world lost its goddamned mind?” Chris Shiflett asks in his soaring new country jam “This Ol’ World,” which he released in conjunction with a slate of solo European tour dates.

The Foo Fighters guitarist doesn’t need a lot more than a verse and a lick to create a barn-burner of a track, letting his six-string do most of the talking here. But while he questions the sanity of daily life, he’s not all gloom and doom — he makes sure to repeat some words of encouragement: “Hope you’re doing alright,” Shiflett sings. The first taste of an upcoming solo album, “This Ol’ World” features a flurry of guitar-playing pyrotechnics, including some back-and-forth with a pedal steel that keeps Shiflett grounded in the country-rock of his native California.

Shiflett, who also hosts the Walking the Floor country-music podcast, released the Dave Cobb-produced LP West Coast Town in 2017. Later this month he’ll launch an overseas spring tour that hits Ireland, the U.K., Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

Chris Shiflett’s upcoming tour dates:
March 30 — Dublin, Ireland @ The Grand Social
March 31 — Brighton, England @ The Haunt
April 1 — London, England @ Omeara
April 2 — Bristol, England @ Fleece
April 4 — Manchester, England @ Night & Day
April 5 — Glasgow, Scotland @ Classic Grand
April 6 — Edinburgh, Scotland @ La Belle Angle
April 8 — Oslo, Norway @ John Dee Club
April 9 — Copenhagen, Denmark @ Pumphuest
April 10 — Stockholm, Sweden @ Nalen Klubb