New DBT material coming soon.

From JamBase (http://www.jambase.com/headsup.asp?storyID=7920):

A Blessing and a Curse, the new Drive-By Truckers album, will be in stores April 25th, but they have already released a downloadable MP3 of one of the tracks called "Feb 14" for Valentines Day!

The Drive-By Truckers are purveyors of a new kind of southern rock storytelling - dense, dark, majestic and intelligent. Featuring three absolute ace songwriters, their albums are stronger for the natural competition. One of the hardest working live bands in the business today, DBT's performances are epic and cathartic. This 7th album is their most concise to date. While in keeping with their now recognizable sound, they have made some significant changes: the songs were all freshly written with this record in mind and without a specific theme. The result is very thought out and deliberate with a decided air of sophistication (Truckers style!).

While I'm always excited to see that some new Truckers material is on the way and really hoping that the new material will result in a couple of visits to Texas, the thing that got me hooked on the band was the fact that there material seemed to have a coherent theme. While there are some good, stand alone tracks on Southern Rock Opera, the common theme running between all the tracks on the album is what took the album from good to great. There is something worrisome with describing a DBT album as "very thought out and deliberate with a decided air of sophistication." I hope this turns out better than the god awful North Mississippi Allstars effort, Polaris, which was described in a similar manner before its release.

By the way, I absolutely love Rolling Stone's description of the band -

If the Old 97's weren't R.E.M.-adoring spastic nerds, they might sound a little bit like the Drive-By Truckers from Athens, Georgia. This country rocking quartet writes Americana anthems for the modern day working man and woman. Touched by the hooves of Crazy Horse, these guys have a rich and crunchy guitar tone, sounding like a string of Neil Young's tweed Deluxe amps turned all the way up out in an open hay field. Their music is basted in tangy harmonies and patiently marinated in both southern soul and small town honesty. These songs are powerful and cathartic creations that display unpretentious arrangements and true grit.

Comments

[Patrick]

If you ever needed proof that a certain someone doesn't read your blog, the fact that we're going on three whole days without comment on that Old 97's dig is pretty strong evidence.

Unsurprisingly I too share your "Polaris" concern. I really don't think the Truckers would wuss out on us like that, but in music there are no guarantees.

[Patrick]

OK, I just listened to it. First impression: Possible child effect, something which bodes very ill for the whole album. It's not the same Southern gothic that DBT represent, there's nothing of unapologetic Southernness of "Southern Rock Opera", no darkness of "Decoration Day" and no beathen down everyman with a lighter like "The Dirty South". Second impression: It sounds kind of like a pop crossover tune. Also doesn't bode well for this album, but that's something that can be remedied, unlike the smarmy life change that goes along with having the first kid.

Shit. Now I'm going to be all nervy through the end of April.

[Rachel]

that is some bull-shit. (hyphening for emphasis of each syllable)

seriously- the 97's rock out and I can't believe you're actually quoting Rolling Stone, aka the most useless music magazine. I'm not even going to get riled up because their opinion means nothing to me, and I expect as much from you.

(but doesn't mean it doesn't hurt a little)