Nearly forty years in, Drivin N Cryin remains a living, breathing American rock band — not a revival act, not a footnote, but a continuing story still being written. Blending Southern rock grit, folk storytelling, and hard-charging rock & roll, the band built a reputation early on as a must-see live act and a songwriter’s band with depth far beyond trends. Coming from the same golden era of college radio rock that birthed fellow Georgia bands R.E.M., Indigo Girls, Black Crowes and more, the band and their frontman Kevn Kinney — a songwriter’s songwriter — still have plenty to say.
This week, the band shared “Mirror Mirror,” the first single and video from their upcoming album, Crushing Flowers. Produced by sometime DNC guitarist Sadler Vaden (Jason Isbell), the album features soaring guitars and harmonies, orchestral flourishes and the honest, “we’re all just humans here” lyrics of Kinney. Guests include R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and (what may be the last studio appearance) of the late Todd Snider.
“Mirror Mirror” delivers from the needle drop — explosive guitars and an unforgettable chorus create a timeless single that could be from any point in the band’s storied career. Kinney wrote the song after visiting his mother who is dealing with Alzheimer’s. It’s a song a younger artist couldn’t write — the mirror in question finds Kinney examining himself, wondering if the disease is looming in his own future…