Lucero - Women & Work

Tennessee country rockers Lucero return with their most experimental record yet, Women & Work, mixing their own brand of Southern soul with rock and roll hooks and a wide range of musical backing.  

  

Introducing Women & Work, Lucero kick start their first record on ATO with Downtown, a minute long opener outlining the albums intentions; ‘come on out tonight, I’ll be good tonight’, they certainly don’t disappoint. The first song proper is the extension of this brief, On My Way Downtown. Here we are immediately exposed to Lucero’s fuller sound. Complete with a delicious blues riff and an uplifting brass section, this big band style is combined with Ben Nichols’ familiar barstool lyrics and a massive chorus of ‘come on baby don’t you wanna go, come on baby please say so’.

The title track that follows features a similar blues, rock and roll energy, powered along again by horns and an underlying jazz piano section that feels synonymous with the honky tonk bar themes described. It May Be Too Late acts as a call and response to the opening song. A slow, closing time piano beginning is soon laced with the last dregs of whiskey sorrow of a night drinking alone. The tender, downhearted lyrics lead to an unbearably desperate crescendo, perfectly mirroring that frantic search for a partner as the bartender starts to wipe down.

Track 5, Juniper, is driven by yet another bluesy guitar lick, a bravado fuelled dance number complete with horns, organ strains and a crooning Nichols at his very best. Though this track feels a somewhat unnatural successor to It May Be Too Late, this may simply be the result of searching for one story in the LP, rather than considering it a more sporadic compilation.        

Furthering this idea, Who You Waiting On tells the story of late night loneliness from the perspective of an unaccompanied woman, soon to be the interest of Nichols across the bar. The tracks steel guitars are soon overridden by a closing organ solo. Whilst previous tracks of despair have always featured a kind of hope in the night, track seven I Can’t Stand To You is pure despair. Described by Nichols as ‘the loneliest song on the record’ it is instantly darker, an eerie mix of wails and tense drumming creating a perfect storm of atmosphere.  In contrast, When I Was Young offers a reminiscent tone smothered around a steady beat, built up and centred on the lyric ‘I was fierce and wild in love, when I was young’. This particular track is perhaps the most similar to Lucero’s previous work, something which may well have been reflected thematically in sound, and is likely to fit seamlessly into their live show.

Sat rather confusingly far back into the album is the brilliantly crafted Sometimes. Featuring the LP’s most memorable riff, this slow, steam train classic is perfectly paced, building up and slacking to the anthemic post chorus ‘You and your brothers watch out for each other, always’, serving as a powerful love song to friends and family. The unfaltering grandeur continues with follow up Like Lightning, with rock and roll chords complimented by a heavily distorted bass line, crashing over a piano introduction. This is 1950’s rock at its best, with each lyrical gap feeling like it should be accompanied by an Elvis hip shimmy. Producer Ted Hutt continuing his near unmatchable ability to let vocalists go balls out crazy towards the end of the track, whilst making it all appear so controlled.

Perhaps like every Southern gent, the debauchery of such Saturday night fire is often accompanied by Sunday morning repentance in church. Therefore, as a perfect closer to such a rocking country record, final song Go Easy is given a gospel feel, its hymn like melody supplemented with a choir backed chorus.

That this doesn’t feel out of place on Women & Work is testament not only to the Deep South setting that Lucero have always nailed, but also to their new ability to expand and experiment. Nichols brings the album to a halt with an upsurge of voice cracking passion that is an ideal curtain closer to a country rock record that in acknowledging its roots and influences never cheapens or overplays them. A record that transcends its boundaries to feel at home whatever part of the world you’re listening to it in, whatever you’re drinking.

But, since you asked, mines a whiskey.                 

Sharks - No Gods

For a young band to boldly title their debut LP No Gods it takes some bottle, not to mention the need for the tunes to back it up. Sharks clearly have both, with their Rise Records unveiling living up to all expectations.

Having formed in 2007, the quartet’s previous release The Joys of Living 2008-2010 catalogued the early work that has seen them gain fans and support slots with the likes of Social Distortion, Chuck Ragan and The Gaslight Anthem, before signing with Rise last year in a move with signalled the labels intention to add punkier acts to their roster.  

Opening track ‘Till The Wonders Rise’ is a magnificent curtain raiser, with a fuzzy introduction bringing in a pounding rhythm section and the first of many notable riffs. Full of energy, a massive chorus and an intricate guitar solo, it serves as a clear statement for the band, with singer James Mattock emphasising ‘We’re the overestimated underdogs’, a lyric that may well prove a classic motto for an increasing number of fans from both sides of the Atlantic.

Follow up track Arcane Effigies proved a deserved first single for the album, earning frequent Radio 1 airplay from the likes of Zane Lowe, Mike Davies and Daniel P. Carter. It’s brilliant slice of guitar pop-punk, highlighting why lyrically and sonically Sharks have been compared to The Clash. The line ‘hapless sick lay on door-steps of beauty, and the privileged are unhappy’ outlining the quality of lyrics present throughout, which is even more brilliant given the bands young age.

Able Moving Hearts provides an anthemic early candidate for No Gods’ second single, with its ambitious feel perfectly supplemented by Andrew Bayliss’ unique guitar work. The combination of tones and rhythm from Bayliss and Mattock perhaps most resembles that of The Gaslight Anthem and this great attribute of Sharks’ sound is a major highlight throughout the entire album.

On A Clear Day You Can See Yourself and Patient Spider brim with a slow confidence, that gives No Gods an upbeat, summertime feel that is sure to be a hit during this year’s festival season. Turn To You  offers an almost waltz like feel, showcasing the wide number of genres and styles present on the record, from the punk honesty and vigour  of Matthew’s Baby, to the rock n roll swagger of What Entails and the indie-tinged Luck.

Closer No Gods is one of the albums best tracks, serving as a seamless closer to a record without a single note of filler. Soaring and dipping from verse to chorus and back again, it closes perfectly with a raw, commanding and uplifting instrumental section outlining exactly what Sharks appear to be about.

The ability to experiment with differing sounds, whilst wearing their influences on their sleeve to create something entirely original is exactly what Sharks do best, something that has been sorely missing on the UK rock scene in recent years. With No Gods these four, clearly talented and motivated musicians, have combined exactly what has made British punk so great over the years, with real lyrical depth and flair. In doing so, they have set themselves up perfectly for a bright future.  ///              

9/10

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

The Boss returns with his 17^th studio album against a backdrop of unemployment, a global economic crisis and a disdain for the wealthy that created it – what could be better?

The opening eight bar beat of first track We Take Care of Our Own suggests that Springsteen has learnt a tick or two from the young, punk upstarts he has recently been championing. 15 seconds in however, that unmistakable New Jersey sound chimes in. The initial verse may well have sounded at home on Springsteen’s last two LP’s, however it’s when the chorus kicks in that we realise the Boss of old has returned. Raging ‘We take care of our own’ Springsteen offers a derisive quote that Republicans and other no brain patriots may well misconstrue. That Springsteen has felt cause to take such a risk for the first time since 1984’s Born in the USA was so horrifically misinterpreted highlights just how important Springsteen believes his message to be.

Second track Easy Money offers a Southern country flavour that immediately implies that Wrecking Ball will be a true Americana record. Shackled and Drawn offers a similar vibe but with a railroad blues undercurrent with Springsteen asking ‘What’s a poor boy to so in a world gone wrong?’ maintaining that unrivalled essence of storytelling that proves despite his millions, The Boss is still very much the working class man.

The albums train track pace is slowed down by the piano driven Jack of All Trades, which reaches a soft crescendo of trumpets, classical guitars and an electric solo from Tom Morello. Even this soft timbre cannot mask Springsteen’s anger however, proclaiming ‘If I had me a gun, I’d find the bastards and shoot them on sight’.  Death to My Hometown has a Celtic, rockabilly mix, perfectly complimenting a stomping electric clap running throughout.

Title track Wrecking Ball may have been written and first performed ahead of the destruction of the New York Giants stadium in New Jersey back in 2009, but it fits perfectly both as an anthemic title and thumping kick-starter to the second half of the LP. The most autobiographical and hopeful song on the album, it opens with the triumphant stanza ‘I was raised out of steel here in the swamps of Jersey, some misty years ago, through the mud and the beer, the blood and the cheers I’ve seen champions come and go’. This only serves to cement Bruce’s place as New Jersey’s spokesman and hero. The crash of cymbals accompanying every chant of ‘bring on your wrecking ball’ is an adrenaline fuelled fist pumper, bringing in an equally energetic brass section, the eloquent contrast between verse and chorus perfectly orchestrated by Soozie Tyrell’s violin. Springsteen remains, however, the focal point. Repeating ‘hard times come and hard times go’ providing the sense of fight that is perhaps the most important message of all.

Acoustic driven You’ve Got It is the ideal track to follow such an anthem, providing the soulful, foot tapping, shoulder swagger that has always come so east to Springsteen. Rocky Ground is a gospel tinged singalong, broken up by a rap section from the superbly talented Michelle Moore. That this feels an almost natural progression, if a surprising one, emphasises just how much of a genre spanning album Wrecking Ball is.

Land of Hope and Dreams was first performed back in 1999 but features on Wrecking Ball for good reason. The last track recorded with E-Street saxophone icon Clarence Clemons, who passed last year and is lovingly remembered as ‘Too big to fucking die’ by Springsteen in the album notes, this is a perfect farewell, with the Big Man’s powerful solo offering both fond memories and an optimistic future. 

Such an outpouring of emotion, so passionately maintained for a soul draining and refilling seven minutes is always difficult to follow and this is perhaps the unavoidable downfall of next two tracks We Are Alive and Swallowed Up (In the Belly of the Whale). We Are Alive is a rock n roll, banjo supplemented country and western song that also can’t quite match the fire of the first half of the album, despite its warmth and positivity. Penultimate track Swallowed Up (In the Belly of the Whale) serves as a slow burning melancholy lullaby ‘I dreamed I awoke, as if buried in my grave’.

The slight lull of intensity provided by Swallowed Up may well have been deliberately placed by Springsteen, as it sets up the perfect anti-dote in the shape of album closer American Land. Outlining all the promised glory and riches of the American Dream ™, Wrecking Ball’s final bow is a glorious Irish folk classic. Detailing the hope of migrants to America, Springsteen adopts an Irish snarl amidst a river dance of strings, drums, lutes, pots, pans and anything else lying around chez Springsteen.       

With Wrecking Ball Springsteen has created a genuine blue collar, genre spanning masterpiece. It serves as a darker, angrier (re)definition of all that makes Bruce Springsteen great, a story told with unequalled style and musicianship underlining The Boss’ relevance and importance. 

Hot Water Music detail new release

Influential hardcore legends Hot Water Music have announced the details of their next record, to be entitled Exister. Chuck Ragan and co. will release the full length LP and their first with Rise Records on May 15th.

Exister will be the bands first record since 2004's The New What Next, following on from last years 7" The Fire, The Steel, The Tread/Adds Up to Nothing. 

The Florida four-piece have also revealed the tracklisting for Exister, whilst a US tour is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

1. Mainline
2. Boy, You're Gonna Hurt Someone
3. State of Grace
4. Drown In It
5. Drag My Body
6. Safety
7. Exister
8. Wrong Way
9. Take No Prisoners
10. Pledge Wore Thin
11. No End Left In Sight
12. The Traps
13. Paid In Full