It seems common to hate country music just on principle these days. The familiar phrase "anything but country" pops up frequently in the music sections on sites like Facebook and MySpace. Indeed, with popular country artists like Kenny Chesney singing a song titled "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy," it's no wonder that music listeners would immediately be turned off to the genre. Fortunately for those listeners willing to seek out better alternatives, there is good music to be found under the label "country."
The Drive-By Truckers are one of those bands; they are a true alt-country band, infusing rock sensibilities into their music while maintaining a southern twang. The band is proud of its roots and is heavily influenced by southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Drive-By Truckers even wrote and recorded a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd, the "Southern Rock Opera" (2001). It was originally released independently before being re-released on major label Lost Highway, whose artists include Willie Nelson, Van Morrison and Ryan Adams.
"A Blessing and a Curse" is the Drive-By Truckers' most recent release on New West Records. On the new album, songs like "Feb. 14" and "Wednesday" strongly display the band's southern rock roots by featuring a heavy use of electric guitar with a distinct country sound. The band also tries their hand at songs like "Little Bonnie" and "Space City" that make use of acoustic guitars and have a softer sound. These two types of songs provide balance on the album, proving that the band has a wide range.
The album gets better as it goes along, especially after multiple listens. "Feb. 14," the opening track, starts off with a great drumbeat and interesting guitar hooks, but the lyrics leave something to be desired, making it a disappointment overall. Fortunately, it is not indicative of the quality of most of the other songs on the album.
"Gravity's Gone," the second track on the album, provides a nice recovery from "Feb. 14." The lyrics are solid, and the guitars and vocals are strong with a definite twang to both. Its lyrics, melody and guitar parts ensure that the song will get stuck in your head for days. It is by far the catchiest song on the album and, in fact, it is the most downloaded song by the band on iTunes (probably for that very reason).
"Easy on Yourself" has a catchy chorus and plenty of guitar. It has a darker sound than many of the other songs, with large amounts of heavily distorted electric guitars. It is reminiscent of Ryan Adam's "Rock N Roll" (2003), utilizing electric guitars playing steady rhythms rather than focusing on catchy riffs. Like Adams did on his album, the Drive-By Truckers lose most of their twang for the song, making it sound the most modern rock out of all of the songs on "A Blessing and Curse." They bring back the twang on the following track, "Wednesday," another driving rock song.
Three of the last four tracks on the album wind things down, with electric guitars making a minimal appearance - the exception being the album's title track. The other three songs, however, are heavily acoustic and quite pleasing to listen to. "Little Bonnie" sounds like a missing track from early Ryan Adams, both musically and lyrically. "Space City" is the mellowest of all of the songs, featuring a slow, steady drumbeat and finger-picked acoustic guitars. Closing the album, "A World of Hurt" sounds like Lou Reed, if Lou Reed were from Alabama instead of New York. Instrumentally it's great, but vocally it sounds forced, as though it's trying to be something it's not.
Overall, "A Blessing and a Curse" is a nice effort from the Drive-By Truckers. While not the best in its genre, it's certainly not the worst. If you're thinking of giving the alt-country genre a try, this is a good album to start off with, though an album like "Heartbreaker" by Ryan Adams would be a better bet. And if you're thinking of torturing someone with really bad music, this isn't your album either. Try Kenny Chesney instead.
