Old 97's

These dudes never did thrash about like Uncle Tupelo or the Bottle Rockets. Yet Rhett Miller and company sound more dynamic in 2008 than most of their old alt-country pals, most of who have gone Starbucks mellow. Blame It on Gravity is yet another set of California country rock pumped up with galloping, high-plains rhythms and modish power pop. After 14 years, the Old 97's still sound like naive teenagers trying to capture that bubbling exuberance unique to early Kinks and Beatles sides.

Over the past 15 years, Old 97's have evolved from country-punk yahoos into master-class
rock & roll songwriters. For proof, see their album opener, "The Fool," a speed-strummed
joy ride that tells the story of two doomed lovers in Day-Glo detail. "He came from Phoenix
in a borrowed VW Bug," sings frontman Rhett Miller, already breathless; the girl he likens to
"a drug/Hallucinogenic with no hangover at all." And yet, after some LPs focused... More >