It’s that time again when the great and the good of Americana-UK ‘fess up and tell it like it is in their individual journeys into the genre we all know and love. This week Ben Roberts – a man who survived being a metalhead and a drummer to make it to the promised land of musical goodness (quite why he doesn’t have the mighty Wilco’s “Heavy Metal Drummer“ on his list we don’t know – but could probably find out…) Continue reading “What Is This Americana Thing Anyway…”
Which is you have to admit an amazing name for a band. Have a good weekend dear reader – we leave you with news that Drive-By Truckers have announced the long-awaited arrival of ‘Town Burned Down’, the first-ever official release from singer/songwriter/guitarists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood’s original incarnation as Adam’s House Cat. Continue reading “Drive By Truckers unveil new Adam’s House Cat album – Listen”
In the nice “sail on a boat” sense. Rolling Stone reports, for all of you moneybags out there: “Nothing says “outlaw” like a Caribbean cruise, and for the fourth year running the Outlaw Country Cruise will set sail in January 2019. When it does, it will have a stacked lineup including Drive-By Truckers, Margo Price and Lucinda Williams all onboard. Run in conjunction by Steve Van Zandt’s Renegade Circus and Sixthman – organizers of the Americana- and country-heavy Cayamo Cruise – the Outlaw Country Cruise sails from Tampa, Florida, to Great Stirrup Cay and Nassau in the Bahamas. Also leading the bill are Bobby Bare, Steve Earle & the Dukes, the Flatlanders, Nikki Lane, Old 97’s, Shooter Jennings and Elizabeth Cook. Continue reading “Go cruising with Drive By Truckers and Lucinda!”
Excellent piece up on the ever more politically essential RS at the moment on some more hideous legislation (or lack of it). Thank you Mr President once again. They report: “On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on whether or not to repeal Net Neutrality, a decision about Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that could impact – among so many other pillars of our country’s modern democracy – the future of music. And independent musicians, those who run a mainly DIY operation, are poised to be hurt the most. Continue reading “Cory Branan: Repealing net neutrality could be dangerous for independent art”
The thing which saved Blitzen Trapper from being run of the mill was their embracing of risk: they can be joyous and frustrating, and on this record they are no different, only, in common with their recent releases, less so. They start with the blue-collar Americana of Rebel and then they hit paydirt of sorts with the title track which hits the spot somewhere between the Drive By Truckers and Bryan Adams, which is not meant to sound snide. The song is a fist-pumper, balancing a strain of nostalgic melancholy with an uplifting chorus that cuts straight to the point. It should be the sound that pours out of a thousand convertibles. Continue reading “Blitzen Trapper “Wild And Reckless” (Lojinx, 2017)”
Anyone remember when AUK gave DBT a one star review back in 2003 and all hell broke loose? (We’re sorry). Anyway, times have changed and we admit they’re incredible now. RS Country reports: “To coincide with Election Day, Drive-By Truckers have released the new song “The Perilous Night,” a politically charged polemic that follows the pointed commentary of the group’s 2016 opus American Band. Much like the band’s song “What It Means,” “The Perilous Night,” written by Patterson Hood, is a deeply literal commentary on 2017’s acrimonious political climate. Continue reading “Drive By Truckers lay into Trump with new song – Listen”
A live version to be precise but it includes a new song which is always a lovely thing to behold from DBT. Rolling Stone reports: “Patterson Hood considers himself to be a pretty cynical person. As one of the leaders of Drive-By Truckers, he’s spent the past 20-plus years channeling that cynicism into writing songs that expose the dark urges and broken promises of the American project in songs like “Putting People on the Moon,” “Goode’s Field Road” and most recently, “What It Means,” a meditative Black Lives Matter-era commentary on race and police brutality that appears on their excellent new album American Band. Continue reading “Drive by Truckers release charity single tackling racism – Watch”
