Des Moines folk-rock five-piece The Host Country has returned with their fourth studio album, Liminal Ways, which is also their first release in six years.
“[The band] all certainly knew what liminal meant, what liminality is. Reading the definition as it is in the dictionary, I feel like a light bulb went off across the room where we were like, ‘Liminal has to be in [the album title] in some way,’” bassist Tom Rue said. “I feel like you're always living in the space between who you were and who you're becoming.”
Rue’s been with the band since 2013, just before their first album Walk Away was released, alongside co-frontmen Ty Wistrand and Diana Weishaar and, more recently, guitarist Michael Lovan (who joined in 2017) and drummer Chris Marshall (who joined in 2024).
“Something that I feel really privileged to have experienced is growing up with these lovely men,” Weishaar said. “We describe ourselves as a family, and we've really cultivated that over the years. First and foremost, the love that we share for each other is really important. It's so cool to see how we've all gotten better together, and a lot of that is Ty's exploration of all the guitar pedals and just different guitars, and bringing Michael into the fold and having those layers. It's really impressive to see the technicality, especially out of Ty and the rest of the crew, dialing in these tones.”
The Host Country’s synthy '80s influences shine through on Liminal Ways more than ever before. The album maintains the historically Americana-tinged band’s emphasis on guitar, but also features the group’s most polished production yet, thanks to Phil Young at Des Moines’ Trilix Studio.
“We were able to really do some exploration, push on vocals a bit on my end, and did some things that are unique,” Weishaar said. “But I think you definitely still hear the roots of what makes The Host Country The Host Country.”
Weishaar plays keys and Wistrand plays guitar, but the pair have been sharing lead vocal responsibilities since they began making music together as University of Northern Iowa students in 2009. Typically, they write songs separately and later bring them to the group, usually singing their own words as lead vocalists on their individual compositions. They both found themselves circling back to themes of transition and liminality while penning the new album’s lyrics.
“[My songs were] just kind of a reflection on times past and how you view things differently as you get older and maybe have a little bit more space between, and maybe get a little bit more mature, but also looking to the future and how you're gonna view things as you continue to get older,” Wistrand said.
“Multiple songs on this record that I wrote are very fresh,” Weishaar said. “We don't often co-write together, but we brought these songs to the table, and then we're like, ‘Oh, hey, we're going through the same stuff right now.’ We're thinking about being in this kind of middle transitional part of life, having a lot to look back on, but questioning the future.”
Liminal Ways opens with the album’s lead single, “The Rise,” which, according to the bandmates, is one of the best tracks on the record but one of the hardest to perform live. They also cited “Living The Dream” and “Gearshift Goodbye” as some of their favorites.
“[Living The Dream] is just such a banger track,” Weishaar said. “The first half starts out more lyrical and typical song structure, and then it goes into a big jam breakout, which I just love.”
“That one definitely pulls a lot more from my War on Drugs-type influence and fandom of them and their sound,” Wistrand explained. “You'll hear [the influence] in terms of how the guitar approach is and some of the doubling with the synth, from a line perspective.”
“I made a joke when we were trying to figure out singles that I could make a case for any one of these songs to be a lead single. I mean, I love them all. I think the writing is very strong,” Rue said. “‘Gearshift Goodbye’, for me, is probably the standout track. Just as I unpack the entire record, I feel like that one feels like maybe the biggest departure for us in a lot of ways.”
The Host Country is putting on two album release shows for Liminal Ways. First, they reconnected with their UNI beginnings for a show at Octopus College Hill in Cedar Falls Saturday, Oct. 17. Then, they take the party to their current digs with a concert at xBk in Des Moines on Saturday, Oct. 24. Waterloo’s Joel Sires will open for both shows.
“I would love to hear what people, what fans of ours and new fans of ours think. We always love hearing from them about our trajectory and the songs that they relate to. We don't get to play live as much anymore, just because of normal life things, so it really means the world to us when people can come out,” Weishaar said. “We'll have some new t-shirts, you know — we'll have some little goodies for folks. But yeah, I think we just want to see people in the room and really share what we've been doing.”
