Drivin N Cryin
Crushing Flowers
americana-uk 70点相当
1985年にアトランタで結成
ジョージア州出身のバンドREM、Indigo Girls、Black Crowesを生み出した
カレッジラジオロックの黄金時代から生まれたバンド
10th
Forty years on from the release of their debut album, Drivin N Cryin are back with their tenth studio release. Formed in Atlanta in 1985, and coming from the same golden era of college radio rock that birthed fellow Georgia bands R.E.M., Indigo Girls, and the Black Crowes, the band’s reputation has been built over the years on an uncompromising spirit, coupled with songs full of Southern rock grit, folk storytelling and high-energy rock n roll. Led by singer-songwriter Kevn Kinney and anchored by the rhythm section of bassist Tim Nielsen and drummer Dave Johnson, this new album, Crushing Flowers, is the first release of new material from the band since Live The Love Beautiful, first saw the light of day back in 2019, and sees Sadler Vaden, an occasional touring guitarist for the trio, occupying the producer’s chair.
The album opens with Mirror, Mirror, an instant americana rock classic, and very much worth the admission fee on its own. Written, as are all the songs on the album, by Kinney, this deeply personal song addresses memory and identity loss with the compassion and restraint that can only come from someone witnessing at firsthand the demise of a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease. And yet, despite the emotive nature of the narrative, the tone and delivery offer both a sense of understanding and defiance with a chorus of anthemic proportions and the repeated line “I know you’re in there somewhere”. Add to this a guest appearance from Peter Buck and an arpeggiated guitar riff that sounds as if it came straight from Heartbreaker’s Mike Campbell, and you have a song that could comfortably sit alongside some of Tom Petty’s finest work, or possibly more accurately, The Byrds.