The Mother Truckers

Let’s All Go to Bed (Funzalo)

On third album Let’s All Go to Bed, the Mother Truckers come out smokin’ dynamite. Actually “Dynamite” is just the lead track, and like most of what follows, it’s an in-yer-face assault of rowdy Southern twang. With loud guitars, greasy beats, and the clamorous harmonies of Josh Zee and Teal Collins, these local Continental Club mainstays set country pretensions on their ear, barely stopping for breath. It’s not until track six, a soulful reading of Billy Joe Shaver’s “When I Get My Wings,” that the proceedings settle down to anything resembling a ballad. With songs like the guitar-flailing title track and headstrong hooks of “I’m Comin’ Over,” Zee and Collins vault to the top of Austin’s country-rock heap. It’s a step beyond Broke, Not Broken, their second disc, yet full of sassy attitude and gloriously unrefined.

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This article appears in June 6 • 2008.

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