With the rapid rise of fellow bar-room rock ‘n’ rollers The Gaslight Anthem and The Hold Steady and “the youth” now beginning to truly appreciate the likes of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, it would seem the time is finally right for Alabama/Georgia’s Drive-By Truckers to crack the mainstream 15 years after they formed. Last’s year’s stellar collection of dusty southern soul songs The Big To-Do was a solid and muscular statement-of-intent that quite rightly saw the six-piece make ripples around the world. Now they need to match (if not better) that success with the release of their ninth record Go-Go Boots .
A companion piece to 2010’s slab of wax (all of the songs for both records were written at the same time) Go-Go Boots is, at first, bewildering. While initially this reviewer expected the band to ramp up the retro sound and transport us back to a land of fiery relationships and fried chicken, instead they offer us 14 songs that the boys themselves refer to as “country, soul and murder ballads.”
After the initial surprise, however, the likes of ‘Dancin’ Ricky’ and the aching ‘Everybody Needs Love’ have their own charm and contain more than a few nods to the Heartbreakers (which is never a bad thing). However, with little light and shade on offer to break up the night-time vibe, Go-Go Boots gets a little samey. In sum, there are few moments of real magic on this workmanlike album.