Drive-By Truckers- American Band (2016)

Drive-By Truckers- American Band (2016)

By: Ghost Writer

As part of the 1980s movie Urban Cowboy, country singer Johnny Lee issued the smashing hit song Lookin' for Love, a massive crossover song that brought together the worlds of pop and country, Lee sang in an irresistible way "I was lookin' for love in all the wrong places..." and just as Lee, I was looking, not for love, but for rebel songs to match our times, in all the wrong places, expecting common rock musicians to come up with songs summing up the dark times of global economy and the nastiness of populists and craziness of those wishing to vote for people like Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Geert Wilders or López Obrador. 

In the 70s, Grand Funk Railroad rocked joyously to “We´re An American Band”, but these days being an “American”, or an “American Band” is by far different from what it used to be, recently I found out who is really writing songs reflecting the true darkens of our era, without fear of retaliation, these fearless musicians are not always coming from the typical world of rock, Drive-By Truckers are an Athens, Georgia based band, an equal spirit to Chicago's Wilco when it comes to the “rootsiness” of their music, less “avant garde”, but more progressive in its political agenda, and that's precisely what American Band is all about, is as political as Kick Out the Jams by the legendary MC5, but not in a punkish way, in fact musically it reminds me of Neil Young, the Grateful Dead and fellow Athens legends R.E.M., opener Ramon Casiano sounds like the most ferocious song Neil Young hasn't wrote, singer guitarist Mickey Cooley soaring vocals reach almost punk in attitude, but the band keeps the record straight about its Southern roots, the song tackling the complex reality happening near the Mexican border, great guitars interlock, while Brad Morgan's bones breaking drum work lays an impossible to fail foundation. 

Darkened Flags At the Cusp of Dawn is more somber stuff closer to some of the biting bitterness in Young's work and featuring the hard edged dissonant heavy guitars of the Canadian guitarist songwriter, but is on Surrender Under Protest where the Athens' quintet really takes off, is a song as inspired as the best we have heard of R.E.M., heavy on emotions and totally in your face, a sharp view of today's mixed feelings in our Northern neighbors, a beautiful but shocking theme showing the level of social compromise and sharp eye on the current events on USA politics. 

Songs like Filthy and Fried, Kinky Hypocrite and What It Means are strong statements from a critical band that seems to bear a flag of honesty and self-criticism, which in such days of hypocrisy, are widely embraced in these days, Drive-By Trucker are such a unique experience, such a big surprise and a great challenger for the truth in times of deception, yes, the rebel song is alive and well and better than ever, you just have to dig a little bit deeper, and to the south, these Southern Men do their stuff so well, no more Sweet Home Alabama, this is pure anger and intellect.