Strengthened by the presence of legendary Memphis producer Jim Dickinson, Lucero comes out swinging on its sixth album. Led by Ben Nichols, whose bears an eerie resemblance to Jay Farrar vocally, the band fits roughly into the traditional southern rock mold, driven by the dual-guitar push of Nichols and co-founder Brian Venable.
The record kicks-off with the caustic “Watch It Burn”, which lives up to its name. Aside from a few quiet moments on “Hold Me Close”, “The War” and the title track, the song list is filled with straightforward rockers. The band could easily become complacent with its own tendencies, but Dickinson doesn’t allow that to happen, adding a stylistic breadth to the band’s guitar-heavy sound.
In the past, Lucero has drawn frequent comparisons to various roots-rock outfits. On Nobody’s Darlings, they avoid being classified as a derivative act by adding their own southern touch to the formula.
