A Blessing and a Curse (2006)

Twenty years into their partnership, Drive-By Truckers mainstays Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley are aging like fine wine — although they're unlikely to leave alcohol unopened that long. In fact, the twangy, tipsy ''Gravity's Gone'' and Hood's the-morning-after riff-out ''Aftermath USA'' are highlights of a A Blessing and a Curse, a CD that finds the Southern rockers turning from the social concerns of 2004's Dirty South to the more personal with career-best results. Then again, how Hood's infant daughter will feel about inspiring the whores-and-guns-referencing ''A World of Hurt'' remains to be seen.