English Oceans
2014 studio album by Drive-By Truckers
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English Oceans is the tenth studio album by American rock band Drive-By Truckers, released on March 4, 2014, by ATO Records. It was produced by long-time collaborator David Barbe and recorded during two weeks in the late spring of 2013. Wes Freed again provided the album's artwork and cover. English Oceans marks the first time the Drive-By Truckers returned to the studio in four years and is one of three records the band has released with two songwriters. It's also the band's first record after bassist Matt Patton officially joined the band.
| English Oceans | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 4, 2014 | |||
| Genre | Southern rock | |||
| Length | 60:27 | |||
| Label | ATO | |||
| Producer | David Barbe | |||
| Drive-By Truckers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from English Oceans | ||||
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The cover art for this album is from a painting by Wes Freed based on a photograph of Abby, Sylvie, and Grace Weissman. The girls' father, Barr Weissman, made the 2009 documentary about the Truckers and the family has remained close with the band. The original painting hangs in the family's living room.
Music and lyrics
While previous Drive-By Truckers records are largely dominated by guitarist Patterson Hood's songs, fellow guitarist Mike Cooley split songwriting duties with Hood for English Oceans.[1] It also marks the first time Cooley took singing duties on a song written by Hood.
According to Chris Conaton of PopMatters, their songs are character studies set to Southern rock music like on the band's previous albums,[2] while The Guardian journalist Dave Simpson wrote that English Oceans is "full of their familiar southern rock: soul and brass occasionally adorn storytelling songs which attempt to right wrongs and champion the worker against The Man."[3]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.2/10[4] |
| Metacritic | 79/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Cuepoint (Expert Witness) | A[7] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
| The Independent | [8] |
| Los Angeles Times | [9] |
| Mojo | [10] |
| Pitchfork | 6.7/10[11] |
| Q | [12] |
| Rolling Stone |  [13] |
| Spin | 6/10[14] |
English Oceans received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album holds an average score of 79, based on 25 reviews.[5] In a review for NPR, Robert Christgau called it Drive-By Truckers' first exceptional album since Brighter Than Creation's Dark (2008) because of how Cooley's songwriting is superior to that of Hood, particularly with songs such as "Shit Shots Count".[15] Pitchfork critic Ian Cohen was also impressed by Cooley's performance, but felt that the album is too often impeded by Hood's more reserved songwriting.[11]
At the end of the year, Christgau named English Oceans the fifth-best album of 2014 in his list for The Barnes & Noble Review.[16]
Commercial performance
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shit Shots Count" | Mike Cooley | 4:10 |
| 2. | "When He's Gone" | Patterson Hood | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Primer Coat" | Mike Cooley | 4:25 |
| 4. | "Pauline Hawkins" | Patterson Hood | 6:39 |
| 5. | "Made Up English Oceans" | Mike Cooley | 3:27 |
| 6. | "The Part of Him" | Patterson Hood | 4:29 |
| 7. | "Hearing Jimmy Loud" | Mike Cooley | 4:45 |
| 8. | "Til He's Dead or Rises" | Patterson Hood | 4:25 |
| 9. | "Hanging On" | Patterson Hood | 4:01 |
| 10. | "Natural Light" | Mike Cooley | 5:16 |
| 11. | "When Walter Went Crazy" | Patterson Hood | 3:48 |
| 12. | "First Air of Autumn" | Mike Cooley | 3:31 |
| 13. | "Grand Canyon" | Patterson Hood | 7:50 |
Personnel
- Patterson Hood - lead and backing vocals, rhythm electric and acoustic guitars, Kay/Baxendale mandocello
- Mike Cooley - lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm electric and acoustic guitars, banjo
- Brad Morgan - drums, percussion
- Matt Patton - bass, backing vocals
- Jay Gonzalez - Hammond B-3, piano, Wurlitzer, lead and rhythm electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Charts
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] | 75 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 93 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[22] | 22 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[23] | 34 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[24] | 3 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[25] | 1 |
| US Billboard 200[26] | 16 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[27] | 2 |
| US Top Current Albums (Billboard)[28] | 16 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[29] | 4 |