Thread by @hock_17

It was the release of #TheUnravelling that has led me to dive headlong into @drivebytruckers. I’ve listened to them plenty before but have never taken the time necessary to really absorb them.

My first introduction to them was through hearing @JasonIsbell perform some of the contributions he made to the band but it was 2016’s American Band that I started to learn of the long term driving force behind then. That being the creativity, talent and conscience of

@pattersonhood and Mike Cooley. There is a coarseness to their voices that through the compassion and conscience of their songwriting becomes soothing, comforting and remarkably convincing. It’s especially powerful in the bands more recent albums but it has always been there.

Southern rock is a genre that has a lot in common with traditional Australian rock. It’s a little surprising that @drivebytruckers have not had more success here though perhaps they were fifteen years too late to break that market. The early albums, particularly those from

Southern Rock Opera to Brighter Than Creation’s Dark sound like they were created for an Australian audience. Perhaps their most interesting album is 2009’s oddities and rarities collection, The Fine Print. It feels like a hinge in their career as it highlight the sounds that

established their career and earned them early success but then it also reveals some of the more produced sounds that are more evident in their recent works. Perhaps most noticeable after listening to ten of twelve studio albums (I have been unable to track down The Big To-Do and

English Oceans) is the consistent high quality throughout. That’s a remarkable feat when you are at album 12 and remarkable also when you have had so many creative minds making significant contributions.

I often find that if people are talking about @drivebytruckers the talk about The Dirty South or Decoration Day. That is fair enough. They are great albums and what @JasonIsbell was doing as a young songwriter was significant.

But when I am telling my grandkids about the great band @drivebytruckers I will tell them to pay attention to what they had to say when the world was burning. The music remains strong, the voices resonate and the words need to be heard.

@threadreaderapp please unroll