The Mother Truckers: Let’s All Go to Bed

By: Sarah Moore

Austin’s The Mother Truckers are a badass electric country and honky-tonk outfit who truly rock the Texas way. The singer-songwriter duo of Josh Zee and Teal Collins represent the Texan way of blues, country, rock and surf with their zesty speed-guitar jams and punchy male-to-female harmonies. Rowdy and raucous honky tonk recalls the best of ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Southern Culture on the Skids.

Booze-drenched, gritty rock starts from the beginning of the disc with “Dynamite” and “Streets of Atlanta” with Zee’s complex guitar riffs and basslines only used west of the Mississippi. Collins’ and Zee’s rockabilly swagger propels track after track. Collins has a hellcat vixen vibe and Zee struts in leather jacket cool. Together, their voices diverge at the right times and converge for dissonant and consonant resolution. “Never Miss My Baby” finds Collins and her Dolly Parton-meets-Joan Jett voice boasting her bad-girl persona. Her throaty gasps and shouts make way for feverous handclaps as “I’m Comin’ Over” starts. The deadly low-end guitar riff switches to twangy country licks but the badassitude remains fully intact.

Title track “Let’s All Go to Bed” involves a rusty harmonica and a country bassline. The speed of their rocking out stays consistently fast, making the various solos that much more impressive. And at the end of the day, the title makes a good suggestion. Rocking this hard sure can take a lot out of y’all.

Here’s a nifty lil’ intro to the band

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