by Jedd Ferris

Rarely are dismal aspects of rural reality presented so well. Depressed economy, cancer clusters, and dealing drugs to make ends meet aren’t the sunniest subjects, but Georgia’s Drive-By Truckers tell it like it is. The five-piece outfit has been winding along since 1998 with a three-guitar attack of dirty bluesy rock, gritty country ballads, and unabashed anthem story songs that explore southern mythology and examine realities and misconceptions of common folks coping with farm foreclosures and job outsourcing.

The band’s roots stem from the 70s soul music breeding ground of Muscle Shoals, Ala., where the three front members, Patterson Hood, Jason Isbell and Mike Cooley grew up. The town-now reduced to standard Strip Mall, USA-was once known as "The Hit Recording Capitol of the World,” being home to the legendary FAME Recording Studio where Wilson Pickett recorded “Mustang Sally” and Aretha Franklin cut “Do Right Woman.”

The group broke into the mainstream eye with 2001’s “Southern Rock Opera,” an independent concept album hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the year’s best. Things have only gotten better with 2003’s “Decoration Day,” 2004’s “The Dirty South,” and now the band’s latest, "A Blessing and a Curse," which will drop April 18. The album is a result of sessions at Fidelitorium, the Kernersville, N.C., studio of underground North Carolina legend Mitch Easter. The Drive-By Truckers play the Charlottesville Pavilion on April 20.