Patterson Hood
Jason Isbell
As I discussed in my last post a goal of mine is to present a variety of genres. With that said, I felt drawn towards doing a country or southern rock bit. The Athens, GA based Drive-By Truckers have long been a favorite of mine with their knack for retelling the folklore of larger than life figures of the South. The Drive-By-Truckers are well known and sit atop their genre, having released nine well received studio albums. As a result, I thought it would be interesting to feature what some of the current and former band members have been up to as of late.
Frontman Patterson Hood recently released Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance. The album is full of the his characteristic gritty vocals, rolling banjo lines, and driven guitar lines. However, at the same times he backs off a bit more on some some tracks like “Come Back Little Star.” The hallmark Hood track “Better than the Truth” below chronicles a character named Billy Ringo and contains all of the southern grit you could ever hope for. A big thanks to Joe Harris ’14 for showing that track to me.
“Better Than the Truth” – Patterson Hood
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“Comeback Little Star” – Patterson Hood
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Former band member, Jason Isbell has been busy with his new group Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit since leaving the Drive-By Truckers in 2007. Quickly becoming one of my favorite albums this year (though released in April 2011), Here We Rest accents the outstanding vocals of Isbell. Isbell’s tracks contain more longing and carry less of a narrative than Hood but are good just the same. Fans who felt drawn to the tracks “Outfit” or “Decoration Day” from the Drive-By Truckers will appreciate his solo work even more. The tracks included in this post are “Alabama Pines” and “Codeine.” Also included in the post is “Decoration Day” which brings both Hood and Isbell together.
“Alabama Pines” – Jason Isbell
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“Codeine” – Jason Isbell
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