Drag the River
Bad at Breaking Up
Suburban Home (2009)
"I know I'm not the easiest lover," Drag the River admits in "Jeff Black Song." That honest and simple line over a minimal acoustic track tells you as much as you need to know about Drag the River. The alt-country band started as a side project, grew into a full-time band, and fell apart as band members went in different directions. At present, they may or may not be active in some form, following a 2008 break up that lasted all of a few months, hence the album title. The similarities to Lucero are more numerous than I want to get into. But, like Ben Nichols' band, the singers are the driving force and recognizable face to the band. Drag the River comes across as Chad and Jon's band, and while members may change, they'll keep at it as long as possible. Drag the River is at their best in the melodic ballads, such as "A Way with Women," "Jeff Black Song," and "J.J.'s Drivin'," which carry themes of broken relationships from a man with his guitar. This isn't a band of punks playing country music, they utilizes the traditional themes of loneliness and trouble with women while playing reflective … Read more
GREYMACHINE
Vultures Descend
Hydra Head (2009)
What do you get when you toss members of Jesu, Isis, Godflesh, House of Low Culture, The Lotus Eaters, Mamiffer … Read more
Swamp Thing
In Shame
6131 (2009)
Rob Gordon's first lines uttered in High Fidelity are What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about … Read more
