Like any great pop songwriter, Rhett Miller of Old 97’s has a sixth sense for turning cornball couplets into choruses that make you sing along with conviction. There’s just something special about his melodies, and whatever it is, it’s responsible for getting lines like “Baby, I’m not lonely/I’ve got my imaginary friends,” stuck in my head forever.
On Drag It Up, the band’s sixth album, “The New Kid” is the obligatory song that makes you wonder why you love it so much. A rollicking ode to jealous, self-centered guys, it contains the line, “I should be kissing that girl/We should be so in love/There is no justice/There’s just dark stars above.” It’s clear why the song’s narrator is alone – he doesn’t stop bitching – but in true Old 97’s fashion, the addictive hooks and pretty harmonies make it irresistible. The rest of Drag It Up follows the familiar path the band has traveled over the years, containing 13 expertly crafted country sing-a-longs. The chugging, relentless guitars of “Friends Forever” and the infectious opening track “Won’t Be Home” hearken back to the band’s breakout disc Too Far To Care, but the album’s best moments reflect the brilliance of 1999’s Fight Songs (one of the catchiest albums of the decade).
“Bloomington” and “In The Satellite Rides A Star” are beautifully crafted ballads about broken relationships. “No Mother,” a eulogy to a friend who was killed by a drunk driver, is proof that sadness lends itself best to stark simplicity. In the album’s press release, lead guitarist Ken Bethea calls Drag It Up “our brains, our breath, our fingers, our soul.” It’s certainly the most personal album of Old 97’s career, but what continues to make this band so damn good is its perplexing ability to turn melodrama into romance, teen angst into real emotion, and simple country shuffles into unforgettable pop gems.
Appeared in the August 5, 2004, issue of Artvoice.