The Drive-By Truckers are one of the best bands out of the South since The Allman Brothers. Ushering Southern Rock into the modern era, Drive-By Truckers have been spinning the yarn and attacking audiences with their barrage of Skynyrd-esque guitar-prowess since 1996.

When former guitarist and songwriter Jason Isbell left the band in 2007, many thought it to be a fatal blow to the Drive-By Truckers. The remaining Truckers responded to that sentiment with Brighter Than Creations Dark in 2008, proving that Isbell was not the lifeblood of the group. Once again, the band has come forth with more evidence that they’re still the rockin’-est band out of the South with The Big To Do, released March 16.

Mainstays of the group Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Shonna Tucker return on The Big To Do, delivering the rock ‘n’ roll ass-whoopin’ that has come to be expected of them. Newcomer John Jeff, replacing Isbell on guitar, along with veterans Hood and Cooley, completes the trifecta of Southern rock guitar riffage, also sitting down at the pedal steel when the occasion calls for it. Shonna Tucker and Brad Morgan hold things down in the rhythm section playing bass and drums respectively, while recent addition Jay Gonzalez lends his keyboard and piano talent to the act.

Sounding like a musical marriage between Lynyrd Skynyrd and the alternative country of original cow-punks Uncle Tupelo, The Big To Do will rock your face off, but also make listeners gather ’round for story time. The genre-spanning album traverses from rockabilly to traditional country and classic rock influenced foot-stompers ala The Rolling Stones.

Drive-By Truckers have come to be known as one of the greatest story telling bands, and their recent efforts do not disappoint. Thanks to the three very capable songwriters in Hood, Cooley and Tucker, there is no lack of diversity in the songs on The Big To Do.

The Drive-By Truckers are no strangers to concept albums, with 1999’s Southern Rock Opera telling the story of the rise and fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd and 2004’s The Dirty South focusing on Southern mythology. Breaking from the mold, The Big To Do seems to have no central theme present throughout the album.

Those who are weary of Southern rock’s pompous, and at times ignorant attitude need not fear the music of the Drive-By Truckers. The band has always done everything in their power to dispel stereotypes of Southerners as xenophobic, Confederate flag-waving, shotgun toting, inbred rednecks, shedding a more realistic light on inhabitants of the Red States. Instead of blindly glorifying the South, Drive-By Truckers sing of the struggles of blue-collar workers, broken hearts and the general hardships many Americans face.

The ever relatable This Fucking Job gives voice to anyone who’s ever found themselves loathing their dead-end job and piss-poor wages, while the more light hearted The Fourth Day Of My Drinking tells the tale of four days spent drinking, resembling a musical adaptation of Dude, Where’s My Car?. Narrating a “lady of the night’s” experience on the job at a young man’s birthday party, Birthday Boy is the best song about the world’s oldest profession since Donna Summer’s She Works Hard for the Money.

With songs like The Wig He Made Her Wear, a murder ballad about a preacher’s wife who shoots her husband in the back, the plots of The Big To Do‘s songs are better than most of the crap on TV these days.

The Big To Do delivers the Drive-By Truckers at their best since Southern Rock Opera and is an essential album for those just discovering the band and long time fans.