|
|
|
Over the past few years the Drive-By Truckers have built a reputation along the lines of "the thinking person's Lynyrd Skynyrd." While there are similarities (three guitarists, from Alabama), the Truckers are more pop-based, more like Jackson Browne or the Eagles if those acts had balls and came from hard-knock lives. The Truckers' songwriting (all three guitarists write and sing) is as accomplished as mainstream country-rock acts, but their sound, attitude and subject matter are all much tougher. Each song is a dense, intertwining gnarl of loud guitars (save for a few quieter numbers) and the Truckers deal primarily with themes of sadness, depression, loss, regret, and self-destruction, unflinchingly but often tempered with humor. As you might guess, it's not a happy Valentine's Day in the Westerbergian lead-off track "Feb. 14." The honky-tonky "Gravity's Gone" is a tale of debauched free-fall with drug money and "champagne handjobs," and the protagonist of "Aftermath USA" wakes from a blackout to find his car dented up and meth in his bathtub, among other evidence of things gone horribly wrong. The album peaks in the middle: "Daylight" features a surprisingly soaring chorus, and "Wednesday," a driving rocker about a couple doomed by depression, is the best song on the album. Things take a turn for the dour with the quieter acoustic-based "Little Bonnie" (she's dead). "Space City" is another quiet number, a wistful, pretty acoustic ballad reminiscent of Beck's Sea Change album. The title track is a dark, midtempo rocker, and things close out with "A World of Hurt," which posits the old "love is pain" idea in a refreshingly plainspoken way. It's a dark, uncompromising album, and the Truckers stay true to their roots without resorting to redneck clichés. Taste-wise they're a bit too whiskey-flavored for this milk-drinking guy, but there's no question they're a damn fine band. (mike.06.06)
rating
related links