When I first wrote about The Weight I described them as equal parts Drag The River and Lucero, but this time around that description no longer applies. While the band maintains the line-up of Joseph Plunket, Uncle Will Noland, Jay Ellis, Fletcher “Poor Boy” Johnson, and Johnny Carpenter, the ‘punk kids making Americana music’ framework has been dropped for a more classic ‘country meets a good time’ sound. Funny what a stable lineup of a couple of years will do to a band.

Are Men is honest, pure and exactly what I was wanting from Shooter Jenning’s mega-disappointment, The Wolf. Thank you, The Weight. It’s been awhile since I was able to type this but, Are Men is most definitely Essential Listening. Check it out.

The Weight – Johnny’s Song
The Weight – Talkin’

The Weight’s Official Site, The Weight on myspace, Buy Are Men

Depressed punk kids playing country songs for those lonesome late-night drives. Apparent influence from classic American songwriters to certain late-’80′s Minneapolis punk bands. “Punk attitude mixed with the passion and sincerity of country” -Status Magazine

My wife hates Internet message boards. She thinks they’re stupid and I spend to much time on them. She’s probably correct on the latter, but I’ll defend the usefulness of message boards until she figures it out. I have been turned on to some amazing music and have met some interesting, not always in a good way, people via message boards. I was turned on to The Weight via a thread on the Lucero message board.The Weight are Joseph Plunket, Uncle Will Noland, Jay Ellis, Fletcher “Poor Boy” Johnson, and Johnny Carpenter. The band originated in Athens, Georgia but relocated to Brooklyn a few years ago. They have two full-length releases: Compass released in 2002 and Ten Mile Grace released in 2004. Compass is long out of print and Ten Mile Grace is f-an-a difficult to locate. I finally found it at No Idea Records.To me, The Weight sound like an equal mix of Drag the River and Lucero. Tracks like Ten Mile Grace could easily appear on a Drag The River release, and I could swear I’ve heard part of the opening guitar riff of Sanchez on the latest Lucero record. Dragged Back In really drives the mix home in my opinion. If this CD was released next year I would write the band off as a Lucero clone, since it came out 3 years ago is all the proof I need that these guys are unique. Ten Mile Grace is the type of CD that gets better with every listen. The kind of record you put on when you are all alone drinking a beer and looking out the window. Warm, soulful, and full of heart, Ten Mile Grace is a must listen for all fans of alt.country/roots rock…..if you can find the damn thing.

Fortunately for us The Weight are currently in the recording process and 2007 will see a new album. I, for one, am looking forward to it.

The Weight – Ten Mile Grace
The Weight – Dragged Back In
The Weight – Hate Myself

The Weight’s Official Site, The Weight on myspace, Buy The Weight’s CD