Drag The River

Drag The River are one of those bands that manage to transcend the confines and boundaries of the musical world and become more like a legend, the kind of band you hear during an overnight roadtrip while driving down the interstate in a sleepy carful of close friends rather than the glossy pages of industry tabloids. You and your buddy are riding shotgun at 4AM while everyone else snores in the backseat, and while rifling through someone’s collection you find this CD and decide to throw it in. Months later, you’re completely hooked.

There’s something about their haunting croon and fuzzed-out Telecasters that make everything fit together so perfectly, hitting that same elusive mix of rock n’ roll and alt-country that The Replacements defined and so many others have tried to cop. Ingrained with a rigorous work ethic over their years in cult punk superheroes Armchair Martian and ALL, they found themselves releasing a constant assortment of 7”s and splits, many of which are now long-lost and out of print, all of which are gathered here on one disc. As with many collection records, this disc provides a fascinating glimpse into their earlier years, as one can observe how rough-around-the-edges demos and misplaced riffs were hammered into acclaimed albums. Also included are more recent tracks that guide first-time listeners on an introduction to one of the most cult-like followings in underground music.