Dave Matthews Band, 'Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King'

Release date: June 2, 2009
Record label: RCA
Official Web site: http://www.davematthewsband.com/

The buzz: Dave Matthews Band return with their first studio record in four years. The release also marks the group’s first since the death of saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who passed in the summer of 2008. DMB’s previous studio album, “Stand Up,” entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 1.

The verdict: DMB could have easily gone another four years without returning to the studio and continued to sell out 20,000-capacity sheds and live comfortably in their respective mansions in-between summer tours. Instead, the veteran jammers with a propensity for annoying pop tunes have made the finest studio album of their career.

Inspired by the death of saxophonist Moore and the New Orleans setting where much of the recording took place, “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King” manages tighter grooves, craftier hooks and heavier funk than anything the band has previously issued. Whereas past DMB studio discs suffer from cloying slickness, the new album has a tough, rocking charm to it thanks to production from Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance). In addition, Matthews delivers some of his most gripping lyrics. Melodic and moving, these are songs that smartly examine the disparity between the haves and have-nots, as well as the arbitrary nature of fate—especially on first single “Funny the Way It Is” and the banjo-laced “Spaceman.” Matthews’ voice sounds slightly rougher and lower on much of the disc; this fits the subject matter better than his clean croon of old. Overall, “Big Whiskey” is a sonically pleasing, effortlessly complex album that manages to hit listeners at gut level—something prior DMB discs largely fail to achieve.

Did you know? When DMB went to New Orleans in early 2009 to finish the album, they integrated material Moore had recorded during sessions from 2008. “It’s so powerful to have Roi here for one last time on an album,” says violinist Boyd Tinsley.

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