OLD 97s PROVE TOP NOTCH
By Barry Gilbert
Of the Post-Dispatch
August 5, 2004
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Like a
child's candy-flavored cough syrup, the Old 97s deliver a dose of heartbreak
and longing on "Drag It Up" that goes down easy on sounds of surf
rock, country, Tex-Mex, punk, pop and '60s rock.
The
Dallas-based band's first CD in three years, which boasts a few more rough
edges than its final major-label release, "Satellite Rides" (2001),
bolts from the gate with "Won't Be Home," featuring Rhett Miller's
killer chorus: "I was born in the back seat of a Mustang/On a cold night
in a hard rain/And the very first song that the radio sang/Was I won't be home
no more . . ."
Although
the songs are credited to the band, "Drag It Up" is still
unmistakably the work of chief songwriter Miller, a self-confessed former nerd
still working through those issues in his music.
"No
Mother" is dedicated to friend of the band who was killed by a drunken
driver.
While songs such as
"Bloomington" display the band's country -- or alt-country -- roots,
the 97s have moved well beyond that niche sound. "Drag It Up," and
the 97s' concerts, show off a band at the top of its game.