BeatRoute Magazine AB Edition - February 2020

DRIVE-BY
TRUCKERS
The Unraveling
ATO Records
KHRUANGBIN &
LEON BRIDGES
Texas Sun EP
Dead Oceans
Perhaps no other rock band can
write so frankly and so accurately
about the American tragedy than
the Drive-by Truckers. After a
three-year absence where lead
songwriters Mike Cooley and
Patterson Hood suffered from
a severe case of writer’s block,
the DBT’s lock, stock and two
smoking barrels are back taking
aim at the good ol’ US of A and its
perilous journey.
Cooley and Patterson simply
do not mince words. In the
sludgy, funk-grunge driven
“Heroin Again” they pose
the question, “why?” and try
slapping some sense into a new
generation of users condemned
to their brain orgasms.
“21st Century USA” recounts
a drive though any beat-up
town filled with fast food joints
and crappy retail outlets where
salvation is finally found in a
“good-time bar to get your bad
swerve on.” But this isn’t a game
of pitching us against them,
it’s a cultural demise that has
everyone trapped in its dead-soul,
commercialized landslide.
Although sometimes the line is
clearly drawn and blame comes
tumbling through. “Thoughts
and Prayers” echoes politicians’
overused expression after another
senseless outburst of domestic
gun violence takes its lethal toll. In
protest with that empty do-nothing
rhetoric comes the chorus, “You
can stick it up your ass, with your
useless thoughts and prayers.”
The Unraveling is the Drive-by
Truckers’ rebel yell — angry, fierce
and all too real.
Best Track: Awaiting
Resurrection
Brad Simm
Khruangbin & Leon Bridges’
collaborative EP Texas Sun
marks the first time the exotic
funk band has written with
a vocalist. The collaboration
finds their colourful rhythm
section masterfully crowned
with Bridges’ bright and soulful
melodies that transport the
listener to the dry heat of the
title track. Tasty basslines and
perfectly pocketed drumming
provide Khruangbin’s classic
hypnotic effect, allowing
listeners to float in and out
for hours on end, catching a
different fruitful lick with
each listen.
A sense of déjà vu from this
collaboration is owed to a joint
North American tour where
their paths converged for the
first time. The EP is an ode to
the “big sky country” of Texas.
Although the artists ride in very
different stylistic lanes, their
origins embody a common
musical vanguard. Speer and
Johnson met at St. John’s United
Methodist Church in Houston –
more commonly referenced as
the house of worship Beyoncé
grew up singing in. Bridges, who
discovered his sound listening
to Texas blues, gospel and R&B,
was a natural detour from their
instrumental norm.
Although this creative side-trip
confirms depth from the trio,
Khruangbin fans still eagerly
await a third album, showcasing
unrestrained flamenco-style
strums, bass-lead melodies,
and dialled in drumming without
accommodations.
Best Track: Texas Sun
Reeghan Carroll
SELENA GOMEZ
Rare
Interscope
Going through trauma can’t be
easy when you’re one of the most
followed people on Instagram.
After some highly-publicized health
struggles – both physical and mental
– and a lengthy breakup with a
certain Canadian pop heartthrob,
Selena Gomez uses her new album
as an opportunity to move past
the pain with upbeat dance-pop
production from the industry’s
most reliable hitmakers and lyrics
centered around self-love.
With her trademark whispery, vulnerable
vocal delivery, she casually
drops references to her medication
in the context of fun pop songs.
There are more than a few less-thansubtle
shots at The Biebs.
Linking up with a kindred spirit in
Kid Cudi, who has had his own fair
share of mental health problems,
on the album’s closing track is
another very powerful moment.
Rare, at its core, is about finally
being able to go out and have fun
once again without everything
weighing on her. Gomez is back,
and “Look At Her Now.”
Best Track: Vulnerable
Ben Boddez
HALSEY
Manic
Capitol Records
The pop landscape can be disorientating,
but on Manic, Halsey’s
third studio album, she works effortlessly
to control that pressure
from within.
The title is a reflection of her
feelings about the loneliness
and euphoria fame brings, while
also accurately representing the
album’s overall sound, which, according
to a recent interview she
did with Rolling Stone, is “literally
just, like, whatever the fuck I felt
like making.”
Manic is far from cohesive, but
that’s likely the point. It still brings
whiplash when you go from a
bitter, country-tinged bop about a
toxic relationship (“You should be
sad”), to angsty pop-rock (the undeniably
fun “3am”), followed by
a smooth hip-hop track featuring
Korean rapper SUGA of boyband
BTS (“SUGA’s Interlude”).
Halsey deserves credit for her
ability to jump in and adapt to
multiple genres within the pop
spectrum. Pop music may be in
a state of disarray, but it’s nice to
Halsey is out there working hard
to evolve, adapt and bare it all.
Best Track: You should be sad
Fraser Hamilton
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 29