Lucero is a mainstay in what is now known as Americana. They represent the difficulty in assigning genre, and at the helm of the ship with sharp lyricism, and an honest voice is the songwriting juggernaut known as Ben Nichols. There are bands that are instantly appealing, have an easy to digest sound, and when you show your friends they instantly get it. Let me just say, Lucero may not be that band.

Ben Nichols' songwriting has influenced more lyricists and songwriters than I have time to write or you have time to read. There’s a fearlessness in the musicality of Lucero that accompanies strong songwriting that I know inspires me and has certainly inspired others.

This album is packed with the same genre bending that led to the creation of the term “Americana'' with punk rock, post rock, and cinematic musical gestures that don’t neatly fit into any predefined box. This forces you to set aside some preconceived notions, and invites you to just take the music as it should be taken, on merit. Which means you just have to judge by the most important measuring stick, is it good, or not? Let me be the first to tell you, it is.