To say that Drive-By Truckers are prolific would be something of an understatement. In the last 12 years they managed to ping out nearly an album a year, and the quality is never short of amazing.

Go Go Boots stands as something of a testament to the never-ending river of songs that flows from Drive-By Truckers and in particular frontman Patterson Hood. The majority of these songs date back to the band’s previous album The Big To Do – which was released less than a year ago. During the writing process for that album the band came up with around 40 songs which they then separated rock oriented tunes and those of a more gentle (musically speaking) persuasion. The rockers found their way onto The Big To Do, while Go Go Boots is filled with a set of songs flavoured with country twang and thoughtful soul.

This time around Drive By Truckers are in familiar territory with their sound harking back to 2004′s countrified The Dirty South. On the surface, it’s a more laid back approach, but tangled in amongst the languid guitars and the whine of the lapsteel are a set of songs laden with dark hearts, impure thoughts and the occasional murder for good measure.

Things start off on a sweet note with Hood’s paean to his grandmother on ‘I Do Believe’, which although tinged with sadness is a sunkissed tune awash with positivity. It could easily fit onto a Tom Petty album, whilst Hood’s vocals aren’t a million miles away from George Harrison’s more impassioned moments.

The snake-hipped bar room blues country crawl of ‘Go Go Boots’ follows, telling one side of a story featuring a preacher with a wandering eye and murder in mind. The tale concludes later on with ‘The Fireplace Poker’, a song that has a genuinely unpleasant feel as it trudges mournfully towards its inevitable conclusion.

Hood further establishes himself as a masterful spinner of tales and conjurer of characters throughout the album. Whether it’s the shimmering memory of his grandmother from ‘I Still Believe’, the gun troubled protagonists of ‘Ray’s Automatic Weapon’ or the peculiar family that inhabits ‘The Thanksgiving Filter’.

Perhaps the best example is ‘Used To Be A Cop’ which paints a terrifying portrait of a man who’s lost pretty much everything throughout his life. It’s a twitchy account of loss, disappointment and anger, driven by an itchy guitar riff that niggles and harries. We leave the ex-cop staring through the window of his ex-wife’s house remembering how things used to be – the searing guitar solo that plays the song out suggesting that things don’t end so well for either of them, the violence in the playing is palpable.

Still, it’s not all murder ballads and pent up aggression. There’s an Eddie Hinton cover of ‘Where’s Eddie’ which is a beautifully executed country-soul ballad. Bassist Shonna Tucker steps up with the vocals here and fairly steals the album with an performance that calls to mind both Natalie Merchant and Linda Ronstadt. Unsurprisingly it echoes the Muscle Shoals Sound perfectly – just as it should; it was the place where soul, country and rock met after all and where Hinton himself cut some of music’s finest tunes.

Wrapping up the album is ‘Mercy Buckets’ a quiet heart wrenching blues work out that echoes The Rolling Stones’ ‘Angie’. Hoods’ vocals are raw and straight from the heart, while the guitar solos build the album towards a shatteringly effective climax.

Drive By Truckers might well be into their 12th year, but on this evidence they’re not showing any signs of coasting or lack of inspiration. There is talk of the band taking a rest shortly, let’s hope they’re not out of action for too long.