The Days of Lore

Drive-By Truckers keep on truckin’

Friday, February 5th, 2010 | musiX | 2 Comments

The Drive-By Truckers are rock ‘n’ roll. Lead Trucker Patterson Hood dredges up tales of love, life on the road and life in the South—it’s pure, gritty and, of course, it ain’t always pretty.

It’s been a long road for the Athens sextet, perhaps evidenced by the fact that there are more former members than there are actual members. But Hood and co-founder Mike Cooley have kept their rock machine rolling, quite prolifically I might add, steadily releasing albums and always touring.

The Truckers’ 10th record—The Big To-Do—is out March 16 on Dave Matthews’ ATO imprint (don’t hold it against them, please). From what I’ve heard so far there’s more rock, a little less twang, and still unapologetically honest. It sometimes feels as if DBT are from another time, when booze was considered a breakfast item and you knew what time it was by how many cigarettes were left in your pack.

The first single off of The Big To-Do—”This Fucking Job”—has been kicking around for a while now, and the band just made another new track “Birthday Boy” available for free download on their Web site. It’s another big-guitar rock song that will sound right at home in a beer-soaked bar or a cozy theater … like, say, in Portland.

“Birthday Boy” - Drive-By Truckers

“This Fucking Job” - Drive-By Truckers

Tags: ATO Records, Drive-By Truckers, Mike Cooley, Patterson Hood, The Big To-Do