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Album Details

• Artist: Jeffrey Luck Lucas
• Album: Hell Then Desire
• Label: indie
• Year of Release:
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2005-06-03

A dreamlike debut from the former cellist and later bassist of the Morlocks, on this, he sounds nothing less than the man who you wish you weren't talking to in the bar but are. You drink, thinking you have it bad, then this guy opens up. You have less reason to cry in your beer, but more reason for hope.
It is not so much the sound that is muddy and weary, but the voice. Lucas sings as if he hovering over the bathtub, debating whether or not to dive under. Yet it is not depressing; somber, haunting tunes like "Old Mexico", "Midnight Texas" and "Sway to the Roll" reveal the real deal: a singer and amateur wise man that country music used to have in abundance, before pop hacks and condescending "insurgent" rock bands took it over. There is defiance in the midst of his slurring, and love in the middle of hatred. As the title of the record suggests, he singer knows enough of the dark side, and is ready for some light. Jeffrey Luck Lucas is, in the words of George Jones, ragged but right.

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