After seven albums and a fanbase that’s has rapidly grown in the UK over the course of those albums, Memphis Country Rockers Lucero have finally found a home on this side of the ocean in the form of Loose Music. On a roster that contains bands such as Deer Tick and Dawes through to Hurray for the Riff Raff and Jim White it seems Loose maybe the perfect label for Lucero’s mix of Gritty Alt-Country and Punk influenced Rowdiness.
And what better venue to debut songs from the bands newest album Women and Work than The Windmill?. Tucked away on a quiet street on Brixton Hill the venue is renowned for being one the best places to see live music in. Dark, grimy and noisy with the sound of pint glasses being downed and the bark of resident Mascot Roofdog coming from (obviously) the roof, it has seen some of the biggest and some of the best up and coming bands share a stage, and tonight at the start of a four night residency its Lucero who are preparing to do that reputation justice.
Talking of up and coming bands its Sweetheart Contract who are tasked with preparing the crowd for the night’s raucousness and what a job they do. With new bandmates injecting fresh passion and urgency into frontman Dexy’s songs, Sweetheart Contract explore every influence of their sound and bring that influence to the surface and spike it with attitude. From the heart on sleeve Replacements punk of ‘Boy Fatigued’ to the midtempo power pop of ‘Summer Heist’ to the galloping psychobilly of ‘The Lonesome Death of the One Man Cabaret’ Sweetheart Contract attack the small Windmill stage with boundless energy only pausing for the country heartbreak of ‘Your fucking Move’. As overused as the term “Ones to Watch” is those three words sum up Sweetheart Contract perfectly.
By the time Lucero weave their way through the crowd and plug in the audience has grown, slowly packing out the small venue as bodies push towards the front, eager to see the band kick off this four night stand. Unfortunately the band seem a little subdued tonight making their set, although crammed with great songs from their vast back catalogue, feel more like a warm up than anything resembling the sweaty, beer soaked shows the band are famed for. Put it down to tiredness (according to the band the night before in Newcastle was an intense, messy show) or maybe the band are just simply pacing themselves (the following three nights are apparently stunning) but tonight Lucero take too long to hit their stride and the enthusiastic crowd soon turn into small pockets of boisterousness rather than surging waves of devoted uproar.
Even though the band are maybe not firing on all cylinders tonight it still doesn’t diminish hearing those songs live. Frontman Ben Nichols is capable of writing heart tugging ballads equally as he can throw out gruff rockers. Tracks like the emotional ‘Mom’ and ‘The War’ give the crowd a breather after the anthemic ‘The Devil and Maggie Chascerillo’ and the growling ‘Chain Link Fence’ and a chance to fully appreciate how adept Nichols is at penning lyrics that stay with you long after the song has finished.
Nichols voice is better live then on record, his sandpaper rough southern croon sounding more at home among the bum notes and feedback of Lucero’s live shows. With their last few albums expanding to include a horn section and transitions into smooth country rock and soul the downside has been discovering that Ben Nichols voice is the weakest link on the bands more recent recorded output. Newest album ‘Women and Work’ is an audience dividing collection of songs with some fans missing the grit of Lucero’s earlier work and even the small, intimate surroundings of the Windmill can’t cover up the embarrassing Status Quo boogie of Women and Work’s title track or the clumsy, mawkishness of ‘Hey Darlin’, Do you Gamble’.
Negatives aside there isn’t any doubt that Lucero are a phenomenal live band, possessing the musical tightness of a band that really has played more than 365 shows a year and racked up countless hours in small vans. Drummer Roy Berry possesses the kind of understated percussive skill that methodically drives every song while Rick Steff is a an incredible musician whether sprinkling keyboards over the rough and ready guitars of Nichols and Brian Venable or backing Ben Nichols solo with sparse accordion.
Bands like Lucero are best seen in small venues in a crowd bound together by sweat and spilled drinks, singing in unison and close enough to touch each member of the band. Even on a bad night a Lucero show remains a vital live experience.
Lewie Peckham
(Photos by Anni Timms)
