★★★★★
It shouldn't come as a surprise to longtime Drive-By Truckers fans that the Athens, Ga.-based band's 10th album sees another lineup change. However, the outcome remains the same. Patterson Hood evenly splits songwriting duties with Mike Cooley and the result is a mixed bag of muscular rockers ("Shit Shots Count") and cinematic, brooding ballads ("Pauline Hawkins"), proving that a little teamwork goes a long way. (www.drivebytruckers.com)
- www.undertheradarmag.com
2014-05-01
★★★★★
English Oceans - Drive-By Truckers
Back-to-basics on their
12th album
Though never far from the spit and spirit of their most recent releases Go-Go Boots and The Big To-Do, the Truckers themselves claim English Oceans owes more to their fiery 1999 live set Alabama Ass Whuppin'. Recorded in an economical two weeks with long-time producer David Barbe, there's an added ferocity to the band's signature pocket portraits of southern life...
- recordcollectormag.com
2014-04-01
★★★★★
Alabama's finest return, recharged, and with a brilliant, balanced blast of rock'n'roll... You wouldn't want to be a character in a Drive-By Truckers song. Whether it's the frustrated titular timebomb of "When Walter Went Crazy", the miserable housewife of "When's He Gone" or the unnamed political fixer/arsehole of "The Part Of Him" ("He never worked an honest day, just kissed up to a better way"), few bands are as adept at painting deft studies of seething losers, loaded with sympathy, shorn...
- www.uncut.co.uk
2014-03-28
★★★★★
In the 15-plus years of perfecting their unique brand of somewhere-between-REM-and-Lynyrd-Skynryd urban-hillbilly-alterna-rock, Drive-By Truckers have never made an album that sounds as good as English Oceans. The geetars are as crisp as 100-dollar bills, vocals more in-your- face than a protester at the height of a rally; it's a resounding success, at least from an artistic standpoint...
- filtermagazine.com
2014-03-13
★★★★★
Three years off don't mean shit to the Drive-By Truckers. There've been line-up changes (bye-bye, Shonna - we'll miss your token ballads), solo records from co-frontmen Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, and relentless touring - it may not be Robert Pollard levels of prolific, but it's as good as you're gonna get from beer-for-breakfast types like these...
- www.thelineofbestfit.com
2014-03-13
★★★★★
Whether Patterson Hood or Mike Cooley-penned, the characters in Drive-By Truckers' songs are almost always living - or perhaps, more accurately -- dying with (or from) regrets. For instance, the woman described by "When He's Gone" is in a 'can't live with him/can't live without him' emotional state after separating from her man. Later, the pitiful guy in "When Walter Went Crazy" takes his own life by setting his house afire, which is a sadly predictable end to an unhappy life...
- www.roughstock.com
2014-03-08
★★★★★
Drive-By Truckers think about their albums. Sure, any musician does that, but it still bears repeating: Drive-By Truckers think about their albums. Just look at Patterson Hood's liner notes. Even misfires like A Blessing and a Curse (which is still pretty good) have a vision behind them. It might not always come together as intended, but Hood and Co. deeply consider how certain songs go together and why they should or shouldn't be on the same record...
- consequenceofsound.net
2014-03-08
★★★★★
Comings and goings aren't anything new to Drive-By Truckers - the acrimonious 2007 exit of singer/songwriter Jason Isbell is just the most dramatic example of its ongoing lineup carousel. But even so, the last few years have been especially tough. In December 2011, bassist and songwriter Shonna Tucker, an anchor of the group's sound for the last eight years, said goodbye...
- thequietus.com
2014-03-08
★★★★★
?????????? As founding members of Drive-By Truckers and long before that, as songwriting foils and kindred spirits amongst the Georgia and Alabama musical scenes, Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, circa 2014, are survivors. Together, they've logged countless miles in planes, vans and buses, traded inordinate amounts of Jack Daniels swigs from the famous brown bottle, and have been the two constants in the ever-evolving cast of characters that have graced their stages and recording studios over...
- www.glidemagazine.com
2014-03-07