New Album Review: Drive-By Truckers- Welcome 2 Club XIII

Drive-By Truckers- Welcome 2 Club XIII

Label: ATO

Producer: David Barbe

After doubling down on the increasing political nature of their latter-day work with a double-dose of albums in the world-changing year of 2020, the modern Southern Rock greats turn back inward and remember that there’s something else to sing about other than politics. That’s not meant as a slam against their decision to tackle the political, economical, and cultural shit-shows that seem to define these modern times. That’s a pivotal and important element of popular music and few acts have managed to address troubling issues with the combination of both aggression and clear-eyed honesty like the Truckers have. Nevertheless, it’s a welcome reprieve to hear them digging back into some more personal stories and themes, and they do it against the glorious dirt and grime of the gritty Southern Rock arrangements that they’ve been raising the bar for over nearly three decades. Named for one of the key venues that played host to the band’s formative days, Welcome to Club XIII is brimming with the band’s most signature components: crashing guitars, complex lyrical offerings, and the trademark, twangy wrangle of vocalists Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley. The musicianship is commanding for every second of the record, even as the tone of the music tempers during more introspective moments. Those are most often provided by Hood’s marvelously unique vocals on tracks like “Shake and Pine”, “We Will Never Wake You Up in the Morning”, but especially on the harrowing pair of tracks that closes the album. One, “Billy Ringo in the Dark” is a devastating contemplation of ending ones life, while the other, “Wilder Days”, is a eulogy for lost youth and lost loved ones. It caps off a meaty album that truthfully serves as a powerful reflection on middle-age, an experience that is frankly far too underrepresented in modern-day music. Like so much of the catalog that preceded it, Club XIII will leave both your ass and your soul shaking in its aftermath.

Track Listing

1. “The Driver” (Patterson Hood)
2. “Maria’s Awful Disclosures” (Mike Cooley)
3. “Shake and Pine” (Hood)
4. “We Will Never Wake You Up in the Morning” (Hood)
5. “Welcome 2 Club XIII” (Hood)
6. “Forged in Hell and Heaven Sent” (Hood)
7. “Every Single Storied Flameout” (Cooley)
8. “Billy Ringo in the Dark” (Hood)
9. “Wilder Days” (Hood)