The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. CHRISTGAU: The Drive-By Truckers could retire tomorrow pretty sure that the South will never spawn a better songwriting band. Foo Fighters Debut ‘Shame Shame’ on ‘SNL,’ Announce New Album, Tom Morello Mocks Trumpers Dancing to Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’, Read Ringo Starr’s Tribute to T. Rex’s Marc Bolan for 2020 Rock Hall of Fame Ceremony, Watch Trent Reznor’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Speech for Nine Inch Nails, Hear System of a Down’s First New Music in 15 Years, ‘Protect the Land’ and ‘Genocidal Humanoidz’, Jason Isbell on Getting Sober, Finding the Perfect Rhythm Section, Gary Clark Jr. on New Album: ‘I Was Very Aware of the Sophomore Slump’. Chase Park Transduction Studios, Athens, GA. Want more Rolling Stone? COOLEY: (Singing) Pride is what you charge a proud man for half. Read Ringo Starr's Tribute to T. Rex's Marc Bolan for 2020 Rock Hall of Fame Ceremony, The ringer on this stripped-down rock set is guitarist Mike Cooley. But you can fit it on a (unintelligible) and get it stuck like mud and (unintelligible) They'll live it like it's gospel and they'll quote it like it's scripture. Meat's just meat, and it's all born dying. Oh, it's Mike Cooley's poetic take on how Republican operative Lee Atwater imagined the male, white, Southern psyche. I won't let you cage me or lock me away. Gary Ross hat die Regie übernommen und zusammen mit Olivia Milch das Drehbuch geschrieben. Designed in California. MIKE COOLEY: (Singing) See, once you grab them by the pride, their hearts are bound to fall, their natural fear of anything less manly or less natural (unintelligible) How hard it is for (unintelligible) because only simple men could see the logic in (unintelligible) a man whittle down. But won't you save me? Ten albums and 18 years on from their first show, the Drive-By Truckers are still capable of mixing things up and showing off new sides of their skill set, and that's certainly the case with English Oceans, which shows them making wise use of all their talents -- not just Mike Cooley. English Oceans, the band's 12th release, is an elegantly balanced and deeply engaged new effort that finds the group refreshed and firing on all cylinders. Instead of his standard two to four tunes per album, Cooley wrote six out of 13 here – and batted 1.000, moving successfully from bashed-out pop ("Shit Shots Count") to bar-Byrds heartbreakers ("Primer Coat") and honky-tonk piano blues ("Natural Light") that can barely keep on its stool. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. The ringer on this stripped-down rock set is guitarist Mike Cooley. Accuracy and availability may vary. But Cooley has always been the more painstaking melodist and facile singer of the two. We Insist: A Timeline Of Protest Music In 2020. But he says their latest album, out this week, is a true comeback. AllMusic Rating. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MADE UP ENGLISH OCEANS"). This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. For years, Mike Cooley has been the George Harrison of the Drive-By Truckers, the guy who contributed two or three fine songs to each DBTs album while frontman Patterson Hood penned the bulk of the band's repertoire. ROBERT CHRISTGAU, BYLINE: I confess I had no idea what the title song of the Drive-By Truckers' "English Oceans" was about until I read the press kit. Add to Custom List. Activewear, die Dich schlanker und schöner macht. Joe Gross Joe Gross Reporter. By accident or design, the increased presence of Cooley's songs gives English Oceans a feel of call and response, as Cooley's smart but plainspoken style faces off against Hood's more artful approach as they both spin tales of characters struggling to make sense of the world around them. CHRISTGAU: "Pauline Hawkins," that song is called, about a woman who thinks "love is like cancer," quote, unquote, but finds sex a solace sometimes. I'm not yours to keep. Cooley's burst of creativity has only made Hood better: "Pauline Hawkins" soars, and album closer "Grand Canyon" might be the best, and simplest, ballad he's ever written. And you can bet Hood provides a bunch more tales of strugglers in an industrialized South he doubts was ever as new as advertised. Shame is what you sell to a whore. I'm nobody's baby. For years, Mike Cooley has been the George Harrison of the Drive-By Truckers, the guy who contributed two or three fine songs to each DBTs album while frontman Patterson Hood penned the bulk of the band's repertoire. CHRISTGAU: Meat's just meat and it's all born dying - a powerful, fatalistic image. Cooley sets the pace with a lead track that's my favorite song of the young year. That's why this isn't just a major album by a major band but something new. 'It can go from this chainsaw rock 'n' roll to this very delicate, pretty-sounding stuff,' says Mike Cooley. 8 . That changes with English Oceans, the band's tenth studio album, where Cooley gets co-star status for a change -- he penned six of the album's 13 tunes, and sings lead on Hood's "Til He's Dead or Rises." English Oceans By. But, of course, Hood also gets to say his piece, as plaintive and acute as ever. Add to My Collection. And it's heightened by the beat - an ominous quick-step march. Jetzt Kaufen. I'm going to feel the highway roll. We Are One. We want to hear from you! User Ratings (0) Your Rating. Some is tender, and some is tough. Patterson Hood, who cranks out his usual smart set of rockers as consistent as Waffle House hash browns. So, figure the long layoff gave Mike Cooley enough time to write because this is the first Drive-By Truckers album where he dominates his prolific partner, Patterson Hood. Copyright © 2014 NPR. Much respect, of course, to frontman Patterson Hood, who cranks out his usual smart set of rockers as consistent as Waffle House hash browns. And on "English Oceans," it's his songs that shine brightest. Der Film wurde am 8. All rights reserved. The band Drive-By Truckers are in their third decade playing alternative country music tinged with Southern pride. Somebody's got a (unintelligible) Somebody's got to mop up the blood. Music critic Robert Christgau says it has been six years since Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers put out a great album. It's just a vacation, a one-way station. © Copyright 2020 Rolling Stone, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. Subtlety has never been this band's biggest selling point, but on English Oceans the Drive-By Truckers show they can pare back their arrangements and create something more atmospheric without stripping their songs of what makes them powerful; Jay Gonzalez's spectral keyboards add a wealth of detail to "Made Up English Oceans" and "Hanging On," and drummer Brad Morgan and bassist Matt Patton are a rhythm section that can rise to any challenge these songs present. CORNISH: Critic Robert Christgau reviewed the new album from Drive-By Truckers, "English Oceans.". Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Album Review: 'English Oceans,' By Drive-By Truckers Music critic Robert Christgau says it has been six years since Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers put out a … Instead of his standard two to four tunes per album, Cooley wrote six out of 13 here – and batted 1.000, moving successfully from bashed-out pop ("Shit Shots Count") to bar-.