Ahhh yes, Southern rock. I love it. And no one does it better than my current-favorite-for-some-years now, The Drive-By Truckers. I have had The Big To-Do for a couple of months already. They have performed at my current city of Columbia, MO already. I have just hesitated reviewing for some reason. A Southern picture as always; hot, humid, political, rawking...these hard rock singer/songwriters never cease to amaze. As always, I never understand why they are not incredibly famous and popular. They can WRITE a song that kicks most other bands in the balls. This album is no different. In fact, shedding a lead guitar gave them a tougher, rawer sound on this album.
It kind of reminds me of a serious Pizza Deliverance. And that album had plenty of seriousness to it as well. I am so fascinated with a band that can continue to evolve and keep loyal to an incredible goal and sound that keeps the South so honest and raw and rural and urban even. As usual their Fualknerian ability to not explain away the duality of the South, but to embrace one of the only bits of cognitive dissonance I can possibly tolerate. Never apologists, only reporters this great piece of Rock & Roll and Southern Rock in particular keeps moving them forward.
The songwriting which has been great for years now just gets better. This album has dropped one of the lead guitars from 3 to 2 which makes it more muscular. They hopped from the New West label to ATO and chose to lean this bitch up a little. They also give their great rhythm section Shonna Tucker another two songs to sing on as well. My favorite album since The Dirty South I just never get over how much this band continues to grow and evolve. I can also never get over why they are not selling out stadiums because they have the 'tude of all the great Southern Rockers 10 fold!
The tunes are all great too, plenty of working man ennui starting with the power chord on Daddy Learned to Fly, the alcoholic paean The Fourth Night of My Drinking and the destined to be a classic This Fucking Job. Well done boys (and girl)!
Also don't miss Shonna Tucker's on-line southern cooking show.
It kind of reminds me of a serious Pizza Deliverance. And that album had plenty of seriousness to it as well. I am so fascinated with a band that can continue to evolve and keep loyal to an incredible goal and sound that keeps the South so honest and raw and rural and urban even. As usual their Fualknerian ability to not explain away the duality of the South, but to embrace one of the only bits of cognitive dissonance I can possibly tolerate. Never apologists, only reporters this great piece of Rock & Roll and Southern Rock in particular keeps moving them forward.
The songwriting which has been great for years now just gets better. This album has dropped one of the lead guitars from 3 to 2 which makes it more muscular. They hopped from the New West label to ATO and chose to lean this bitch up a little. They also give their great rhythm section Shonna Tucker another two songs to sing on as well. My favorite album since The Dirty South I just never get over how much this band continues to grow and evolve. I can also never get over why they are not selling out stadiums because they have the 'tude of all the great Southern Rockers 10 fold!
The tunes are all great too, plenty of working man ennui starting with the power chord on Daddy Learned to Fly, the alcoholic paean The Fourth Night of My Drinking and the destined to be a classic This Fucking Job. Well done boys (and girl)!
Also don't miss Shonna Tucker's on-line southern cooking show.
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