The Old 97's Blame It On Gravity LP

Some bands blast out of the gate and never recapture their early energy. Other bands establish themselves as models of consistency. Still other bands take awhile to find themselves. And then there are bands like the Old 97s, who blast out of the gate, establish themselves as models of consistency, take awhile to find themselves, and then, fifteen years in, deliver a glorious record that sums up everything about them that fans have always loved. With Blame It On Gravity, the seventh Old 97's record and the second for New West, the band has made its definitive statement.

Blame it on Gravity, a 13-song powerhouse of an album, finds the band turning up the amps and returning to the satisfying crunch of its early records. There are triumphant windmilling riffs, squalls of feedback, and upward spirals of guitar noise - and that's just in the first song, "The Fool." This time, the four members of the band decided to make the record in Dallas, where the band started fifteen years ago. Blame It on Gravity came together during a three-month recording session that doubled as a homecoming. Produced by up and coming producer, Salim Nourallah, the album superbly combines the various elements of rock, punk, classic country and pop displayed on previous releases.