Drive-By Truckers’ ‘American Band’ is the most important album of 2016
Three years ago, Stereogum went on record calling Drive-By Truckers “the greatest extant American rock and roll band,” and even when compared to now-defunct acts like Big Star or Sonic Youth, the site argues they’d still make the Top Ten. When you look at the band’s body of work — including the albums released since Stereogum made that statement, like English Oceans and the massive live set, It’s Great to Be Alive — it’s hard to disagree.
Now in 2016, the Athens-born, Alabama-bred rockers are celebrating their 20th year of existence while preparing for the release of their eleventh studio album, American Band. While the anniversary doesn’t seem to be a big deal for founding members Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, the timing of this album definitely is.
I had the opportunity to speak with Cooley for The Boot, and though that chat won’t be published until closer to the release date of American Band (Sept. 30), I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on the conversation. I was surprised at his lack of enthusiasm for the band’s anniversary, but quickly realized it wasn’t because he refused to appreciate the Drive-By Truckers’ history or didn’t respect the strong fanbase that has grown over the last two decades, but more because he is always looking ahead.
Looking ahead in 2016, for Cooley, is a little complicated as he contemplates the state of the country in the midst of political vengeance and the seemingly never-ending presence (and growth) of racial tension. Though it may be complicated, Cooley has no interest in not looking ahead even if the general conversations about politics and race quickly descend into maddening and unhelpful banter.
So how does an artist like Cooley keep his head above water with hope for the future? He and his parters-in-crime wrote an album — possibly the most important album of 2016.
From the opening track of American Band, the Truckers pull out all the stops. “Ramón Casiano” hits you in the gut as Cooley walks listeners through the story of Casiano’s death and the ascension of his murderer, Harlon Carter. Ten more tracks follow “Ramón Casiano,” each contributing to the journey of American Band — a journey that refuses to worry about politics and instead concerns itself with humanity.
The somber “When the Sun Don’t Shine” stands out to me every time I come back to American Band, as does the pensive (and kinda funky) “Ever South.” The latter is a story like only DBT can tell, with Hood almost sighing, “[We] bashed our heads against the future, ever South.”
Regardless of where you might land in the selection of songs on American Band, rest assured that you will be challenged and you will be pushed. You will be given an honest, raw, unadulterated perspective about the climate in which we currently live by a band that seeks to speak out for mankind. It’s that lack of fear rooted in Hood and Cooley’s efforts that make American Band such a wholly unique listening experience, and why it will go down as an undeniably vital album for 2016 (and, likely, beyond).
