Drive-By Truckers mourned the depreciation of the United States on their last full-length, American Band — and that was before Trump was elected president. Now, one year since the country's last election (and on a day when local elections will take place in some states), the outspoken band have debuted a new track.
"The Perilous Night" digs further into the current political climate of the United States, referencing everything from border control to the ongoing Russia investigation to the Charlottesville tragedy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, songwriter Patterson Hood calls it "the darkest song I've ever written."
"'The Perilous Night' is a sort of nightmarish epilogue to the themes we addressed on American Band," he said in a statement. "I began writing it on the day the Electoral College met in December 2016 and completed it in the wake of the horrific events in Charlottesville, VA, last summer. We recorded it in Athens, GA, during a break in our fall tour and mixed it on the day Tom Petty passed away."
It arrives with an accompanying lyric video that only adds to the track's powerful messaging. Scroll past the band's just-announced upcoming North American tour dates to watch it below.
Tour dates:
01/26 Kansas City, MO - The Truman
01/27 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
01/28 Sioux Falls, SD - Orpheum Theatre
01/31 Missoula, MT - The Wilma
02/01 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
02/02 Vancouver, BC - Imperial
02/03 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
02/05 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
02/07 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
02/08 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
02/09 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
02/10 Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
02/15 Athens, GA - 40 Watt
02/16 Athens, GA - 40 Watt
02/17 Athens, GA - 40 Watt
"The Perilous Night" digs further into the current political climate of the United States, referencing everything from border control to the ongoing Russia investigation to the Charlottesville tragedy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, songwriter Patterson Hood calls it "the darkest song I've ever written."
"'The Perilous Night' is a sort of nightmarish epilogue to the themes we addressed on American Band," he said in a statement. "I began writing it on the day the Electoral College met in December 2016 and completed it in the wake of the horrific events in Charlottesville, VA, last summer. We recorded it in Athens, GA, during a break in our fall tour and mixed it on the day Tom Petty passed away."
It arrives with an accompanying lyric video that only adds to the track's powerful messaging. Scroll past the band's just-announced upcoming North American tour dates to watch it below.
Tour dates:
01/26 Kansas City, MO - The Truman
01/27 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
01/28 Sioux Falls, SD - Orpheum Theatre
01/31 Missoula, MT - The Wilma
02/01 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
02/02 Vancouver, BC - Imperial
02/03 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
02/05 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
02/07 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
02/08 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
02/09 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
02/10 Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
02/15 Athens, GA - 40 Watt
02/16 Athens, GA - 40 Watt
02/17 Athens, GA - 40 Watt