Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do

Drive-By Truckers
The Big To-Do
2010 ATO

From the heels of their critically acclaimed and well liked opus Brighter Than Creation’s Dark (2008) comes the new Drive-By Truckers record, The Big To-Do, the group’s eighth studio album. The Drive-By Truckers have made a career performing songs about hard drinking and hard living, with a raucous but also a truthful and sometimes sorrowful sensibility. It’s their tenderness and delicateness when covering such subjects, even when they’re at full volume, that makes their songs and albums perennially engaging and often times brilliant.

Thankfully, that spirit continues with The Big To-Do. De facto leader Patterson Hood kicks things off with a blistering opener, “Daddy Learned to Fly”, featuring a memorable, rough guitar riff and setting the bar for the rest of the album really high. The band has three principal songwriters (guitarist Hood, other guitarist Mike Cooley, and bassist Shonda Tucker), which allows their records to change shape and move in different directions without deviating too far from the mean. Hood assumes most of the songwriting duties on The Big To-Do, largely successfully. “Drag the Lake Charlie”, lead single “This Fucking Job”, and “After the Scene Dies” are all riff-heavy, big-chorus anthems that work well and carry the momentum of the tremendous opener.

It’s unfortunate that Cooley’s contributions are diminished, however, because he routinely provides the most enduring tracks to Drive-By Truckers’ records (he only penned three songs on this album). His “Birthday Boy”, which looks at a day in the life of a prostitute, features a memorable melody and perfect slide guitar accompaniment, and is one of his finest moments. Shonda Tucker chimes in with two tracks, and though her songs on Brighter Than Creation’s Dark may have been that album’s lowlights, she shines in the eerie “You Got Another” and “It’s Gonna Be (I Told You So)”.

The album does taper off towards its conclusion. The Hood-written “Santa Fe” has its moments, but the second half of the record, though solid, passes without much fanfare. To be frank, some of The Big To-Do sounds like a retread of Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, even down to lyrical content and track layout.

I’m not advocating for Patterson Hood to start playing a didgeridoo or for the band to incorporate a West African chorus, but a little more ambition would be nice. Even still, though I might not fully grasp the science of it, I think if you dilute something that’s fucking awesome to begin with, the end result is simply something slightly less fucking awesome.

B+

John Lacey

(Ed. Note: This marks the 100th post on the Musicarium. I realize not many people care, but I kinda do, and I’d like to sincerely thank everyone who has ever written a column for this blog and anyone who has ever read it, particularly Matt Steele, who has contributed routinely since day one. Here’s to 100 more!)