Drive-By TruckersBrighter Than Creation's Dark

Loose, lived-in and dusty, like a late-night drive through the rural South. After Jason Isbell's exit, the Truckers traded their three-guitar roar for acoustic warmth and pedal-steel ache. "The Righteous Path" churns with recession-era grit, while "Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife," Hood's hushed eulogy for a murdered friend, will gut you. New bassist Shonna Tucker steps to the mic on "I'm Sorry Huston." Nineteen tracks, rowdy and grief-stricken by turns. Drop the needle.