The South has risen again and the Drive-By Truckers are leading the charge. “A Blessing and a Curse” is this neo-southern rock band from Alabama’s seventh cd, and one of those albums was a double cd concept album about the rise and fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Southern Rock Opera”), so you know they are an ambitious bunch. Led by three singer-songwriter-guitarists, Drive-By Truckers are varied enough in their performances between hard edged rockers and melodic ballads to keep you interested over the long haul of this album of songs about debauchery, lost love and southern gothic philosophy.

The three singers proudly flaunt their southern accents over the densely layered electric guitars and pounding rhythm that make up their unique, signature sound. Patterson Hood’s voice is the most memorable with his straining but lovable high tenor. Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell’s voices are perfect change ups from Hood’s and some of their songs (“Easy on Yourself”, “Daylight” and “Space City”) are among the best on the album. The band rocks like a cross between AC/DC and early seventies Rolling Stones and the songs never stoop to sentimentality while they tell of broken relationships and the damage that results.  

At the end though, is the song that provides the light at the end of the tunnel. “A World of Hurt”, with its spoken word verses is a masterpiece of positive thinking. “To love is to feel pain” concludes Hood, “The secret to a happy ending is knowing when to roll the credits, better roll them now before something else goes wrong” and as the steel guitars swirl around him, eventually his logics leads to this theory: “Its great to be alive.” It sure beats the alternative!   

Listen for lots of tracks all week from "A Blessing and a Curse" by Drive-By Truckers on Paul Shugrue's new music show, "Out of the Box"  Monday through Thursday from 7pm to 9pm and Saturday from 1pm to 5pm on Public Radio 89.5 WHRV-FM