Drive-By Truckers

"The Night G.G. Allin Came to Town" could very well be the best alt country song ever recorded in the history of distorted twang. But don't let the title of that song or the album's moniker deter you. This ain't some corny college band slumming in white trash kitsch. These Alabama boys (and girl) are the real deal.

Rockers playing sorta-country with rough enthusiasm and nothing like a sound, they make their mark detailing the semivoluntary poverty DIY musicians share with the highly subsuburban constituency they imagine. These are people who'd love to have more money, sh*t yes, but don't know the first thing about kissing ass, people who think six-packs are necessities of life and Dixie Chicks CDs aren't. So they f*ck up as a life principle and then write or listen to songs about it--songs about getting loaded and screwing your sister-in-law, about shooting that lady at the laundromat who stole your sock. About f*cking up just like your daddy. About G.G. Allin changing your life, never mind exactly how. (Grade - A-)