Hear Drive-By Truckers’ Introspective New Song ‘Filthy and Fried’

The Drive-By Truckers recently released “Filthy and Fried,” the first official single from the group’s forthcoming studio album American Band. An aggressive, politically-charged collection of songs, American Band spends a portion of its time addressing gun violence and race relations. But “Filthy and Fried” – written by Mike Cooley – is a soft-spoken personal tale that traces changing gender roles, youth and parenthood.

Like many of Cooley’s songs, “Filthy and Fried” is grounded in the details, from the “B-model Mazda” the narrator observes in the second verse to the “rising, relentlessly stifling heat” in which the song takes place.

“Just don’t mix your browns and your whites with your wines and don’t sit on your cigarettes,” Cooley sings, adopting the role of grizzled elder offering first-rate party advice.

“I’m always proud of Cooley’s songs,” says Patterson Hood, “But he really outdid himself on this record.”

Last month, the Truckers premiered “What It Means,” Hood’s scorching take on racially-motivated police shootings. 

“Neither Cooley nor I had really set out to write this kind of record,” says Hood, “But so much crazy shit’s been happening, so unfortunately the album kind of wrote itself.”

American Band will be released on September 30th.