Southern gothic

After a rocky period that almost saw the band's breakup -- and resulted in the departure of guitarist and co-songwriter Jason Isabell -- Drive-By Truckers is back in surprisingly strong form with its latest album Brighter Than Creation's Dark. \nThat said, though, it's a slightly different form. Creation's Dark has a quieter, sadder feel than much of the band's past work -- rather than rollicking Skynyrd-influenced Southern rock, the album is closer to the alt-country of Wilco's Sky Blue Sky or of Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins. It's less about drinking your Jack Daniels from the bottle and raising hell and more about sitting at the bar wondering what went wrong.\nStill, it brings to bear the Truckers' greatest weapon -- its talent for songs with compelling stories and vivid characters. Among the best of these are "Self Destructive Zones," a tale of the death of hair metal and mourning for its loss; "Bob," about the loneliness of a closeted gay man in a small town; "The Opening Act," a gig-in-the-life of a once-huge band fallen on hard times; and "Checkout Time In Vegas," a hardboiled story about the aftermath of an illegal arms deal gone wrong.\nThat's not to say Creation's Dark is perfect. Drive-By Truckers' storytelling sometimes veers into after-school special over-earnestness, with the anti-war song "The Home Front" and drug sob story "You And Your Crystal Meth," inviting eye-rolls despite their good intentions. (The album's other anti-war song, "That Man I Shot" is, however, much better.) Also, at 19 tracks and roughly one hour and 15 minutes of mostly downcast songs, Creation's Dark gets to be a drag when listened to in one sitting -- even if it feels a little perverse to say that the band should have cut the thing in half and charged the fans for two albums -- you certainly can't fault their generosity.\nIf you want to rock with an R-A-W-K, you'd be better served by the Truckers' past releases (if you're new to the band, invest in a copy of its 2001 masterpiece Southern Rock Opera). But if you want something that'll put tears in your beer, give Creation's Dark a spin.