Americana Music Reviews

 

Lucero
Tennessee
MADJACK Records
by Jud Block

It's been two years since Lucero officially staked its claim in the national music landscape with its eponymously titled debut that burst from Memphis with all the force of a Sam Phillips self-promotion pitch. With its post-last-call/first-sickly-light-of-early-next-morning feel, the songs examined the mistakes we often make under the influence of ethanol and darkness when our actions seem perfectly logical and justified, and the regret we're usually left to deal with once the sun rises and the BAC level drops. It was easily one of the best CDs of the year, but, as with most really good music, it went largely unnoticed, obscured by the silicon breasts, pierced navels, and choreographed dance routines of the soft-porn princesses and the modern-day vaudevillian offerings by the phallus phalanxes that have passed for music well into their sixteenth minute. Thankfully, Lucero didn't hold that against us and has returned with a new disc, Tennessee, that picks up where the last one left off.

Critics apparently have a hell of a time trying to affix a label to Lucero's music; at least that's what their press release suggests. "Southern Indie rock" and, of course, "Alternative Country" have been bandied about when it comes to their sound, but neither one seems to fully encompass what Lucero is doing. Being closely affiliated with the Milan Kundera school of taxonomy myself, I am usually hesitant to desultorily slap a label on something simply for the sake of convenience, but since it falls under the description of my avocation, I'll give it a shot. After having listened to both of Lucero's discs to the point of dulling the laser on my CD player, I think Ben Nichols, Brian Venable, John C. Stubblefield, and Roy Berry play Soul music. Sure, they do it with a nod to punk rock and with the assistance of the occasional lap steel and dobro, but every song they play has an emotional intensity and visceral impact worthy of an Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, or Sam Cooke.

Tennessee was produced by Cody Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars, brother of Luther, son of Jim) and was recorded at the Dickinson's studio -- Zebra Ranch -- in Coldwater, Mississippi. Cody also produced Lucero's debut disc, and he has managed to capture a sound that is paradoxically very Southern, yet nowhere near Southern rock. He also does a wonderful job of highlighting what might just be Lucero's strongest asset -- the voice of Ben Nichols. Nichols's rumbling, raspy, and sometimes cracked baritone is capable of getting more raw emotion from a one-syllable word than most of those so-called divas can get from their entire catalogue. And that's not meant to slight the rest of the band, whose musical dexterity in going from subtle acoustics to full-on punk intensity might be second only to Slobberbone.

The first track, "Sweet Little Thing," is a perfect case in point. It's about a man who only realizes his dependence on the woman in his life once she has had enough of his shit and decides to leave. The track begins with a sparse arrangement of acoustic guitar, drums, and bass through the verses, then swells into a wave of sound that pounds home the heart-wrenching plea and truth of the chorus.

A kiss'll make you close your eyes
A kiss won't make you stay
Please don't walk away
I like to know you're there
Though there's nothing left to say
Please don't walk away

On "Nights Like These," the emotional and psychological impact of being in a relationship with someone who's still in love with another person is examined. It starts with the lonely ring of a solo electric guitar that is eventually accompanied on the occasional note by the bass. Nichols's anguished voice joins in and slowly becomes a scream of frustration to a rhythmic crescendo of power chords. As with most of Lucero's songs, the lyrics are economical, penetrating, and often, painful; in this case, the final verse, with its implied jealous violence as the narrator tries desperately to justify the rejection he's experienced, is especially so.

The beer tastes like blood and my mouth is numb
I can't make the words I need to say
She had a weakness for writers
And I was never that good at words anyways

"Old Sad Songs" is very likely the best fifty-four word, fifty-eight second song ever recorded. It succinctly tells the tale of how a musician will choose if given the option between love and music, and is set to a tune that sounds as though it came straight from the Civil War. Suffice it to say these boys are serious damn musicians.

I'd stay with you tonight my love I'd stay the whole night through
But the boys are playing those old sad songs and I must sing along
I hear the snare drum's slow sad march I hear those fiddles cry
And I must go to them my love or else I'd stay the night

The song that really stood out on the disc was "Chain Link Fence." It's basically about the dynamics of attraction, young romanticism and taking advantage of a situation when it presents itself. But what it lacks in profundity, it more than makes up for in a catchy melody and sense of humor. Anyone who's ever been single at an outdoor music festival or still remembers the awkward excitement of his first high-school flirtations can relate to this one.

Well she's sitting right there on the chain link fence
She's down at the park with the rest of her friends
And she looks so pretty but she's only 16
Didn't know that when she smiled at me

Now the boys are hunched over their electric guitars
I'm lying in the grass out beside my car
I follow her down to the Dixie Freeze

Hold on to me
Sweet girl
Don't let go for the world
Cause I'm not from here
And I'm afraid I might never see you again

If you're a fan of Slobberbone, then you'll love Lucero. They have a late night, alcohol-fueled intensity to their sound that lends itself as perfectly to a barroom as it does a rainy evening alone. The music is raw, unadorned, emotional, and completely devoid of artifice, and for that reason should scare the hell out of most people. If Tennessee doesn't convince you that Lucero is one of the best bands making music right now, then you simply don't have a soul.

Check out another side of Memphis at www.lucerofamily.net



Contact Jud Block at jud-at-rockzilla.net

 
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