Home > Baltimore Music > CD Review > The Old 97's, 'Blame It On Gravity'

Backstory: In the alt-country community, Dallas’ Old 97’s are legends. Though they've never had a major commercial breakthrough—“Murder (Or a Heart Attack)” got some minor airplay almost a decade ago—fans of country music with grit (and rock with a little twang) have been holding them close since their 1994 debut, “Hitchhike to Rhome.”

Why you should care: The last Old 97’s album, “Drag It Up,” was a rare, overproduced misstep; “Blame It On Gravity” is their chance to prove that they've still got the unmistakable passion that garnered them their solid reputation.

Verdict: From the first note of “The Fool,” it's obvious that “Gravity” can fit in handily with the 97’s’ best. Over a chunky-yet-simmering guitar lick, singer-songwriter Rhett Miller waxes about a man from Phoenix who's driving towards the end of his life, reaching for the top of his register when he sings “there is love/everywhere you go/but it's never enough.” The lack-of-love theme has been a steady part of the best of the 97’s catalog, and it's omnipresent here, through the classic two-step shuffle of “She Loves the Sunset” (“Every so often it seems/I love a girl/she loves the sunset,” Miller whines) or even the title of the acoustic lament “The Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue,” a rare contribution from bassist Murray Hammond. But the fun's still sticking around too; album closer “The One” is a self-referential toast to unexpected licensing money. Welcome back, boys.

X-Factor: Miller continues to have a burgeoning solo career; he recorded tracks for a third solo album concurrently with “Gravity.” It’s due out later this year.

Add a comment