Deep Cuts #01: Lucero – 'Women & Work'
Honky-tonk saloon rock from the heart of Tennessee.
Artist: Lucero
Title: Women & Work
Release: March 13th, 2012
Label: ATO Records
Listen here: Spotify | YouTube
In 2012 I was quickly approaching the twilight of my mid-twenties and the long-rumoured mid-midlife crisis. Thankfully, I managed to stave off the worst of it and keep my shit (mostly) together. However, this was also a period in time when my musical tastes were yearning for new, unexplored horizons.
Spending the last decade or so fixated on punk, hardcore, and metal (along with any bastard combination of those three) meant that I was missing out on a lot of other cool stuff. So, in the sage wisdom of those post-adolescent years, I made a concerted effort to diversify my tastes. I started listening to rap and hip-hop, post-rock, instrumental music, 90s Midwest emo and post-hardcore staples—shit, I even listened to jazz when I was burying my nose in books for university. But the one record that stands out from this period of discovery, the one with the most longevity, and the one that still puts a smile on my dial in this new decade of ours, is Lucero’s Women & Work.
“Downtown (Intro)” is the perfect scene-setter. Plaintive guitar refrains, wistful notes of piano and organ, and the gruff, whiskey-coated Southern drawl of enigmatic frontman/guitarist Ben Nichols. Lyrically, this brief introduction serves as a repeated invitation—“Come on out tonight”—with Nichols & Co extending their hands and offering to guide the listener through the neon-soaked streets, saloon halls, and dimly lit bars of Memphis, Tennessee.
Recorded at the historic Ardent Studio in Memphis, Women & Work pushes Lucero's personal brand of heart-on-sleeve country folk into more universal, bar-band rock territory, through the use of horn sections, pedal steel guitar, keyboards and a gospel chorus—with great results.
Moving swiftly into the upbeat strut of “On My Way Downtown” and album’s title track, Nichols puts the record’s thesis on full display: “Now it's one shot of women, one shot of work/ One shot’s sweeter but both can hurt/ Just let it go, kid, just let it go.” Both tracks embody an affectionate strain of Southern hedonism and rural Americana, reflected in Lucero’s hard-drinking, skirt-chasing, country-tinged indie spirit and breakneck touring schedule. The guitars are clean and bright, with a classic rock ’n’ roll feel, complimenting Rick Steff’s playful piano, organ, accordion.
“Juniper” and “Who You Waiting On?” have a distinctly lovelorn feel, with Nichols’ taking on the persona of the lonely bar-fly, pining away for the sweet girl at the bar or the wild one on the dancefloor with equal measure. It’s not all fun and games though, with the record’s back end reflecting Lucero’s more contemplative and heartfelt back catalogue.
“I Can’t Stand To Leave You” is a mid-tempo elegy for a loved one left behind, with a sorrowful outro accented by chiming organ and the gentle push of a gospel chorus. In interviews, Nichols has said that the track “doesn’t really fit on the record,” despite being “one of my favourite songs [he’s] ever written.” And although I can see the frontman’s point, my view is that tracks on the record’s B-side like the nostalgic “When I Was Young” and the beautiful homage to brotherly love “Sometimes” perfectly complement Nichol’s yearning folk lyricism.
Not to mention that album standout “Like Lightning” might just be Lucero at their darn-tooting, honky-tonk best, with rich storytelling and an infectious, joyous chorus.
Women & Work is ultimately a record about heart: the passion, the pain, and the emotional pull that our upbringing and hometown exerts on all of us.
It's a fun, catchy record, perfect for a barbeque cookout or a backyard drinking session with close friends. It’s a record that feels warm, safe, and familiar, and one that I keep coming back to time and time again.