I know. It’s confusing: Drive-By Truckers are definitely “cowboys,” but…they’re also LIBERALS?
Either way, the stetson-hatted Patterson Hood and his ALL-AMERICAN crew have recently announced the release of their 12th studio album The Unraveling — heralded by its first, fist-pumping, power-to-the-people single “Armageddon’s Back in Town,” which “takes a whirlwind joyride through the whiplash of events we collectively deal with each day.” (That sounds evocative, doesn’t it?)
The Unraveling was apparently presaged by Hood and co-founder Mike Cooley “doing battle with deep pools of writer’s block.” (Seriously. Who’s writing these press releases?) “How do you put these day to day things we’re all living through into the form of a song that we (much less anybody else) would ever want to listen to?” Hood asks. “How do you write about the daily absurdities when you can’t even wrap your head around them in the first place?” Then he goes ahead and answers those rhetorical questions. “I think our response was to focus at the core emotional level. More heart and less cerebral perhaps.”
The less-cerebral results will arrive via ATO Records on Friday, January 31, 2020 — or, as the press release puts it: “just in time for election 2020 season.” But you can stick it to whomever ends up being “the man” a little early by pre-ordering the album digitally here and physically right over here.
You can also witness the band for yourself, live on the campaign trail, after perusing their grueling list of upcoming stops around AMERICA (plus a few over across the pond in EURO-AMERICA) down below the lyric video for “Armageddon,” album art, and full tracklist. YES YOU CAN.
The Unraveling tracklisting:
01. Rosemary With A Bible and A Gun
02. Armageddon’s Back In Town
03. Slow Ride Argument
04. Thoughts and Prayers
05. 21st Century USA
06. Heroin Again
07. Babies In Cages
08. Grievance Merchants
09. Awaiting Resurrection
Drive-By truck stops:
01.16.20 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theater
01.17.20 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
01.18.20 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
02.13.20 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
02.14.20 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
02.15.20 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
02.18.20 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
02.19.20 - Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theater
02.21.20 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
02.22.20 - Boston, MA - Somerville Theatre
02.23.20 - Portland, ME - State Theatre
02.25.20 - New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall
02.27.20 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
02.28.20 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
02.29.20 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
03.20.20 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
03.21.20 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
03.22.20 - Arcata, CA - Van Duzer Theatre
03.24.20 - Petaluma, CA - Mystic Theatre
03.26.20 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
03.27.20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater
03.28.20 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
03.31.20 - Albuquerque, NM - El Rey Theater
04.02.20 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
04.03.20 - Austin, TX - Scoot Inn
04.04.20 - Austin, TX - Scoot Inn
04.16.20 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
04.17.20 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
04.18.20 - Charleston, NC - High Water Festival *
04.21.20 - Winston-Salem, NC - The Ramkat
04.23.20 - Lexington, KY - Manchester Music Hall
04.24.20 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
04.25.20 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
04.27.20 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall
04.28.20 - Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live
04.29.20 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
05.01.20 - Birmingham, AL - Iron City
05.02.20 - Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees *
06.01.20 - Raalte, NL - Ribs and Blues
06.03.20 - Dublin, IE - Vicar Street
06.05.20 - Leeds, UK - Irish Centre
06.06.20 - London, UK - O2 Forum
06.07.20 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
06.08.20 - Antwerp, BE - De Roma
06.09.20 - Koln, DE - Kantine
06.11.20 - Berlin, DE - Kesselhaus
06.12.20 - Copenhagen, DK - Amager Bio
06.13.20 - Stockholm, SE - Sthlm Americana *
06.14.20 - Oslo, NO - Rockefeller
06.15.20 - Arhaus, DK - Train
* festival performance