If I ran the zoo, a couple of the songs on Old 97’s just-released Blame It on Gravity would be big hits. The first song on the album, “The Fool,” effectively combines jangling guitars borrowed from “Pinball Wizard” with a country bounce and clever lyrics. And then there’s “Dance With Me”—who doesn’t love a rock ’n’ roll tango? The band waited four years to make another album of new material (they released a “best-of” collection in ‘06), and it seems their sound and gang songwriting have matured quite a bit during the interval. I used to be somewhat confused about this band: Were they Americana? Indie rock? Now, though they still wear all of their influences on their sleeves, they have a well-formed sound all their own.
Producer: Nouralish. Engineers: Rip Rowan and Salim Nouralish. Studio: Pleasantry Lane (Dallas). Mastering: Gavin Lurssen/Lurssen Mastering (Hollywood).
