I first saw Drive-By Truckers about 20 years ago at SXSW. They were playing at some Sixth Street shithole, midway down the bill (I honestly can’t remember who I was there to see, but I don’t think it was them). At the time, they were touring their live album Alabama Ass Whuppin’, debuting songs from their upcoming Southern Rock Opera, and breaking in their latest lead guitarist, a husky young guy named Jason Isbell. Needless to say, I was sold. I bought all their early albums the next day at Waterloo Records, and I’ve been along for the ride ever since. I’ve reviewed every album since SRO. I’ve interviewed co-founding singer-songwriters and guitarists Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley. I’ve seen them umpteen times as they’ve evolved from a scrappy regional bar band to one of the greatest American groups of their generation. Naturally, I’m already looking forward to the release of their dozenth studio album The Unraveling on Jan. 31. As that title suggests, the disc sounds like another topical entry in their sterling catalogue. “The past three-and-a-half years were among the most tumultuous our country has ever seen,” says Hood in a press release, “and the duality between the generally positive state of affairs within our band while watching so many things we care about being decimated and destroyed all around us informed the writing of this album to the core. While a quick glance might imply that we’re picking up where 2016’s American Band album left off, the differences are as telling as the similarities. If the last one was a warning shot hinting at a coming storm, this one was written in the wreckage and aftermath. I’ve always said that all of our records are political but I’ve also said that ‘politics is personal’. With that in mind, this album is especially personal.” See where they’re coming from in the animated video for the powerful preview track Armageddon’s Back in Town above. As always, they’re not the only artists who announced a new album today. Scroll down to see the rest of the upcoming arrivals — including offerings from Squarepusher and Circa Waves — and head over to the Upcoming Releases page to peep the full list.
November 29
Pris | Sulphur City
December 6
Beat City Tubeworks | I Just Cannot Believe It’s The Incredible …
Sharda | Champagne Circuits
December 13
Monolink | Amniotic Deluxe
January 10
Tony Irving & Massimo Magee | Vitriol and the Third Oraculum
January 31
Drive-By Truckers | The Unraveling
Squarepusher | Be Up a Hello
February 14
Post Animal | When I Think Of You In A Castle
February 21
Peggy Sue | Vices
March 13
Circa Waves | Sad Happy
