The Big To-Do

As on past DBT albums, Hood occasionally cedes lead-vocal duties to one of his bandmates, which helps stave off the bar-band blahs that can threaten this kind of material.

The band still has the muscle to match its mileage.

Never have Patterson Hood’s five-piece sounded quite so cranky and furiously righteous as they do on this terrific, ear-splitting sprawl of shit-kicking country boogie.

Even though this is a relatively concise Truckers record, it does still have a little flab around the midriff.

The first four tracks of new album The Big To-Do are a solid continuation of the Truckers’ recent winning streak....But just as it seems clear we’ve got another rough-edged diamond on our hands, the album begins to wander at its mid-point.

The Truckers demonstrated with 2008's Brighter Than Creation's Dark that they don't need non-stop yuks and grotesqueries to reach greatness, but the best moments of The Big To-Do nonetheless offer tantalizing proof that these guys still possess fascinatingly warped minds when they feel like showing 'em off.

Hood’s contributions dominate To-Do; of the thirteen songs, bassist Shonna Tucker gets two, and even after his jaw dropping win streak on 2008’s excellent Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, Mike Cooley is only allotted three. But he still comes off as the crafty Southern gentleman with all of the best one-liners.

Once again, the Truckers conjure up satisfying and cinematic songs with the greatest of ease.

A collection of unconnected-though certainly related-songs that traverse all sorts of Southern terrain and situations. The group's songwriting trio (mainly Patterson Hood) offers the usual array of potent guitar riffs, stomping hard rock and vivid lyricism.

The Big To-Do is a subtle but genuine step forward from 2008's Brighter Than Creation's Dark, but while that album dug deep into the darker undercurrents of its songs, The Big To-Do resembles Bruce Springsteen's The River in that its stories of folks under punishing circumstances are married to music that tries to find some sort of grace and honor in the struggle without dulling the lyrical impact.

Per usual there's no flash whatsoever--just seasoned professionals delivering doggedly tuneful, meticulously detailed vignettes that are part Lynyrd Skynyrd and part Raymond Carver.

The Big To-Do suffers from the opposite problem, with its workmanlike consistency belying its lack of truly astonishing highs.

Musically, the DBTs manage a decent range--from big, squalling rockers to teary, lap-steel balladry--albeit without throwing any great surprises. Same old story, to some extent, but one worth hearing again.

The rest is more of what fans have come to expect: entertaining stories told with heart and Southern rock brawn. For them, each DBT release is a Big To-Do.

The Big To-Do features some of the band's most evocative chunks of misery-detailing to date.

The variations will be more palpable to longtime fans--a bit more chunky, melodic rock, a little less alt-country--than to anyone just discovering this rousing band.

While The Big To-Do won’t be known for its gambles, its stellar collection of memorable rockers make it a great addition to the band’s already impressive catalog.

While the portions are smaller on The Big To-Do, they’re just as satisfying.

One of the first great rock albums of 2010, The Big To-Do is archetypal DBT. [Winter 2010, p.70]

The Big To-Do, it's pleasing to report, rocks as hard and loud as anything they've previously done. [Apr 2010, p.78]

Hood's vision for the band has always been cinematic--never more so than here, in fact--but by mid-album tracks such as "Get Downtown" and "After The Scene Dies," things are becoming sketchy.

The Big To-Do is the familiar mix of big guitars and off-kilter storytelling. [Apr 2010, p.120]