old 97’s, ‘graveyard whistling’

11th studio album from this great texas band, this may be my favorite release of 2017 so far. the band has always rode that fine line between roadhouse rockabilly and l.a. punk, and as such they have always been on the outside looking in regarding mainstream rock, and this is no exception. in fact, it basically defines their career. i have listened to it at least a half dozen times, and i love it more after each spin. the first song (‘i don’t want to die in this town’) may be perfect, if you don’t mind a straight up, in your face high octane offering, replete with washes of twangy high reverb guitar swatches. it should be played loud.

recorded in the same venue they used for their first major label debut in 1996 – ‘too far too care’ – this is in many ways a return to their roots but with a nod to 20 years on the road. ‘good with god’ features brandi carlisle on vocals and songwriter credits. ‘jesus loves you’ is a great ditty about trying to woo a religious female at a bar, with such catchy pick up lines as ‘he’s got the whole world in his hands, i’ve got lone star in a can’. hard to argue with that.