Lucero - That Much Further West

I'll have to admit that I hadn't heard of this band until they toured with Against Me!, and then I knew I had to look into them. Sadly, I haven't heard their previous material; I hope to do so eventually, but I imagine it would be hard for Lucero to have written anything better than this album in the past. Playing a style that blends southern rock, alt-country and even a touch of punk, Lucero's latest is a record you could listen to while sitting on the back porch on a summer evening, drinking whiskey and watching the sunset. Pretty straight-forward but not boring, catchy but not the least bit annoying, sorta fuzzy and very relaxed. The vocals are the most "country" thing about the band, a perfect raspy drawl. The album really doesn't lag at all, but the definite song to hear would be "Tears Don't Matter Much." As soon as Lucero gets some more exposure, they could definitely be picked up by a major label. Listening to That Much Further West makes that prediction an easy thing to see. [www.lucerofamily.net]