The Derailers: Here Come The Derailers

The members of The Derailers believe in real country music. That sentiment is apparent on every album they record, and in their impressive dedication to live performances, which take place about 300 times a year. The Derailers' last album, Full Western Dress, even saw the band rewarded with a rare guest appearance by hero Buck Owens. Revivalists of Owens' classic Bakersfield sound couldn't ask for a better stamp of approval than that, and the boost seems to have done the group good on Here Come The Derailers. Another memorable honky-tonk snapshot, Here Come won't surprise old fans of the band, or of country music in general, but that's at least part of the point. From the punning titles—"Bar Exam," "All The Rage In Paris" (referring to Paris, Texas)—to the beer-soaked woe, this is tradition-adhering country through and through. The Derailers' greatest strength lies in an ability to write songs that sound great while sticking within those constraints, and on its rave-ups and weepers, the group seldom sounds less than great. Singer Tony Villanueva doesn't have the most immediately distinctive voice in country music, but he still sounds born for the genre. As with the singer, so with the band, the lineup of which remains intact from the last album for the first time in the group's career. With luck, it'll stick around for a while, because Here Come The Derailers sounds like nothing more than a good band getting even better.