The Avett Brothers have announced they will release their new studio album, Closer Than Together, Oct. 4. The band has also shared the first single from the record, “High Steppin’.”

In an extended mission statement released as the band announced the album—which follows up the Avetts’ 2016 effort, True Sadness—Seth Avett writes, “We didn’t make a record that was meant to comment on the sociopolitical landscape we live in. We did, however, make an album that is obviously informed by what is happening now on a grander scale all around us…because we are a part of it and it is a part of us. Closer Than Together is a record of obvious American origin—a creation that fittingly could only come about through hard work, measured freedom, awe-inspiring landscapes, and perfectly flawed individualism. The Avett Brothers will probably never make a sociopolitical record. But if we did, it might sound something like this.”

Below, listen to “High Steppin'” and read Avett’s full mission statement. The band plays Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival tomorrow, Jun 14, before heading to Mountain Jam on Sunday. See the Avetts’ full tour schedule here.