Artist: Austin Lucas
Album: Between The Moon & The Midwest
Bitrate: 228kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Last Chance Records
Genre: Country
Size: 65.10 megs
PlayTime: 0h 37min 58sec total
Rip Date: 2016-03-04
Store Date: 2016-03-04
Track List:
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01. Unbroken Hearts 4:41
02. Ain't We Free 2:52
03. Kristie Rae 3:46
04. Wrong Side Of The Dream 3:36
05. Pray For Rain 3:37
06. The Flame 4:11
07. Next To You 3:30
08. Call The Doctor 3:14
09. William 4:33
10. Midnight 3:58
Release Notes:
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Austin Lucas has, for a few years now, been one of the best and most
stylistically individual 'country' singers around. The emphasis is on 'country'
for the simple reason that his style really should be looked on as the yardstick
for defining 'real' modern country music. Despite the often mellow, gentle
moments on his albums there is always a raw edge that tells you this is very
much a 'heart on sleeve' writer and performer. I have loved his music since the
opening bars of his 2006 debut album ' Common Cold' and quite a number of varied
recordings since, including one with Chuck Ragan, all of which were of the
highest quality and in varying degrees, with Austin's 'punk' roots shining
through, although never invasive.
The country elements are deep and natural but when necessary he can rock with
the best of them. People sang (sic) the praises of artists such as Garth Brooks
when he started out but Austin is way above that level in just about every way.
Cale Tyson and Sturgill Simpson are justifiably praised as being the new faces
of 'traditional country music,' Austin Lucas is most definitely the 'new face,'
despite having been on the scene for nearly ten years, of the edgier side of the
same genre and actually ups the ante with his powerful and deep originality. He
is helped out on this recording by artists of the calibre of John Moreland,
Lydia Loveless and Cory Brannan, whilst being joined in the production by
'Glossary' guitarist and vocalist Joey Kneiser.
Perhaps it is his grounding in punk rock that enables him to be more believable,
the fact that there is no artifice, just far from plain and certainly not simple
country music that, with his attitude and lack of self consciousness, is easily
traced back to the dawn of recording and those unpolished 'hillbillies' of old.
Much of what has been referred to as country music over the last few decades
contains excellent lyrics, strong melodies and excellent playing and singing but
often with very little 'soul' or believability. Austin Lucas and just a few
artists like him completely redress the balance, making music that is not only
full of soul and believability but is quite often challenging in its lack of
pulled punches. His voice has an emotion charged, almost tragic quality to it,
as if there is a sense of hopelessness and no little confusion, in reality
emphasized by the extraordinarily high quality of his vocals.
If there is one thing he is incapable of it is singing with a lack of emotion,
having a degree of vulnerability in both voice and lyrical depictions that puts
him in the realm of the greats of country singer songwriters who wore their
hearts on their sleeves, something that is apparently a reflection of his
everyday life. Many who have followed his often open hearted posts on the
digital technology sites will know exactly what I mean.
From the intro of the very first song, Unbroken Hearts, which starts with a
slightly foreboding cacophony that in many ways deceives the listener about what
is to follow, but as the song develops you realize this is an artist who is
taking melodicism to a different level to those who were once his peers and in
many ways is actually taking country music to another level. It is not
traditional country or any of the alt. offshoots, but it is as powerfully
country as it is possible to get, although maybe it is a natural progression
from artists such as Hank, George, Merle, Willie et al. Their names were all
made as purveyors of country music but generally not the formulaic variety that
can be found in the modern day charts, more, country with an 'edge'. Of course,
back in the heyday of those artists the influences were probably less and the
record companies more controlling. Certainly it would have been interesting if
they, like Austin, had grown up in the 'punk rock' era. I suspect there is a
strong possibility that they wouldn't have been far removed stylistically from
Austin Lucas. There is a passion and a drive to his version of country music
that few in the modern era can match and when added to his unique songwriting
skills, evocative vocals and spectacularly different arrangements, you can't
help but wonder if this is a new direction for country music itself. There is no
sanitization of his lyrics that in some cases are quite challenging, almost as
if he is not telling stories but stating factual experiences, perhaps from life
rather than fiction and is finding it difficult to control the out pouring of
varied emotions.
An unusual rocking intro greets us on Ain't We Free, a mid tempo song that can
fit comfortably but not exclusively into a sub genre such as 'country rock,' but
there is a lot more to a song that is full of the youthful joy of freedom, in
some ways an anthem to youth, but there is always that undercurrent of dangerous
freedom rather than the freedom available to those who 'toe the line!' A
beautiful steel guitar and shuffling percussion gets Wrong Side Of The Dream
underway with Austin's heartfelt vocal apologizing for always being away from
home, with gorgeous female vocals from duet partner Lydia Loveless during which
she puts her point of view. The Flame, as befits the title, is a strange
haunting tale with rolling barrelhouse piano, steel guitar, chugging electric
guitars and a hard driving vocal from Austin and his partner in harmonies Lydia
on a song imbued with distrust and uncertainty about a lovers faithfulness or
otherwise. The songs atmosphere is as unsettling as the lyrics giving the
listener a complete picture of the subjects' desperate feelings. Finally, on
this album from which every song is worthy of a paragraph of its own, William is
a gentle ballad with just acoustic guitar for accompaniment on a tale that tells
of the intricacies of a friends psyche. Whilst the instrumentation is sparse,
lyrically and vocally this is an incredibly real but raw tale. This cements the
differences between Austin and most other modern country musicians in that his
songs all have a realness and a raw edginess that most others lack, even if the
first impression is of the music at least having a mellow feel.
I've loved every album that Austin Lucas has been involved in but this superb
recording takes his music to an entirely different level. Austin is the man who,
given the exposure, could turn fans of rock, pop, punk, metal, etc on to the
fact that real country music is not in fact a joke, but a viable, perhaps even
vital, addition to their musical tastes and could open up a whole new world to
them! This truly is an album of 'real, hard country music!'