Customer Reviews

That Much Further West

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I see that the magazine reviews compared this to the Replacements and Pete Yorn. That's some pretty good songwriting company.

To me, though, the better comparison is to Son Volt's first. Alt-country with no weak songs on the album.

One of the better albums I've bought in a long time.

I've been waiting anxiously for this release, biting my fingernails and clutching my poor broken heart. And Lucero does not dissapoint. This album has a soul that aches in songs like "sad and lonely" and "the only one". Its heart beats to thumping rhythms best exemplified in songs like "tears don't matter much" and "tonight ain't gonna be good". This album is every part of you that's ever been hurt, left bleeding on the floor. It's more polished than the two preceeding it (the self-titled "Lucero" and the sophomore "Tennessee"), but that doesn't take away its throbbing heartache. Which is a good thing, trust me. If you attend a lot of their live shows, you'll recognize a lot of the songs (including "joining the army," which I've only heard once in the seven times I've seen them live). So "That Much Further West" isn't a departure for Lucero, but it's not exactly the same old, same old either. What it is is a collection of songs so powerful that you have to remind yourself to breathe while listening to them. Get this record. Your heart and soul need it.

my older brother listens to this because he got dumped by his girlfriend. it sounds ok, i think. he got over her he says because of this band and then he got a tattoo on his arm that says lucero so i think this is a good band. i just hope that they don't break up because then my brothers tattoo will be stupid. so are girls he says.

i saw these guys live a few days ago with against me, and they're not like anything i ever heard before. they're the only type of country i listen to, they have a rough, tired sound to them that makes them more interesting than most. i've never wanted to be a cowboy more in my life.

If these two CDs don't make you a fan of Lucero, well, I don't know what will. Solid rockers and ballads. Buy it, if you don't like it, I'll refund your money. Well, I won't really, but you will like it.

Awesome, awesome, awesome. When I play this cd I usually spin it twice. The first line of the second song is worth the price alone, at least to me. This band is my second favorite alt/country band. Gin Blossoms being the first. Tears Don't Matter Much, Mine Tonight, Ain't Gonna Be Good, and That Much Further West are the standout tracks, but the whole album flows well.

When I initially heard this album, ironically I was getting a tattoo. I was blown away by the melody and straightforward approach. It is often attempted, but rarely executed properly. Lucero is capable of bringing to you, the southern midwest, as if it were penned on a typewriter and carried to you on a steam locomotive: With all of the grace and brevity of a fading violet, behind the opus of inspiration. I lived near Tennessee for almost five years (during my mid-teens), ten years ago, and this brings to light all of the ways I wanted to interpet it, but was unable to do so, without succinct focus. This thing is good all of the way through. However, I have read reviews attempting to describe these guys. One even said that Nichols conjures Shawn McGowan, of Pogues fame. However, I think Nichols' delivery is closer to that of Mr. Bachman, of Archers of Loaf fame (complete with ambiguous keys/chords and vocal snarl/shrapnel). And, at times, some of the guitar parts are very close to Jets to Brazil's later stuff. But, anyway you put it, even though they seem to sound like so many other bands, one cannot seemingly say that they really have heard anything like it before. In example, in "That Much Further West", Nichols states that, "These guys could do this without my help/the songs they write themselves " (or somehting of the like). This is the modest dignity we have come to expect, or anticipate from a guy who wants to be a star, but can't even get the courage to chase the girl that got away. Or, in "The Only One", he sets the tempo for the rest of the album: Grace through fire, where all of the the tears turn to long nights with a beer in hand, but exacts a price in return. In conclusion, this is a very good album, with staying power to boot. A great black and white, still-frame photo of goods, even though the hard ones are past, or right around the corner. Nichols could mumble, and you would get the same feeling. The best band I have never heard of, and the best music I have heard in a long time.

I love this album. The songs are all excellent and take you on a nice ride. Nothing overly complicated. Just real, hard life sung over twisty guitars. Makes the whiskey and car rides better. Got this after a recommendation from Captain's Dead blog. If you are a fan of alt-country and/or indie rock of the 90s, please check it out. As an avid and unassociated reader, the guy is good.

this album is amazing, lucero is amazing, everything lucero has put out is amazing...but unfortunetly they are not from Texas as the other guy said.

...comes this record. a slight departure from their previous releases, this one still has the trademark lucero stamp through and through. although this album draws a line between lucero's past and future, stylistically, i doubt many of their old fans will be disappointed. the 3 records prior to this one were more "country" (for lack of a better term), and this one, as Rolling Stone pointed out, is more "Replacements". which is to say that the guitars are a little fuzzier, and just a little more "rock". yet this record doesn't sound quite like anything else out there. references to Uncle Tupelo have been made, but i feel those references apply more to the previous lucero recordings than this one.
lucero clearly has held onto their roots here, with the country twang seeping through, and the lyrics certainly fit the bill, being concerned mainly with heartbreak, drinking and fighting. the leanings toward rock have created a new chapter for this band. i think soon people will talk about "old lucero" and "new lucero", as the forthcoming record, "nobody's darlings" is an even further step away from the "country" tag. it could be said that this is the record that would the best "icebreaker" to introduce them to someone unfamiliar, leading that person to have to seek out the earlier work.
but you can't fault the band for experimentation, especially when it works so well for them. the increase in energy (such as in "hate and jealousy", tonight ain't gonna be good" and "tears don't matter much" seems to come so naturally to them, and resonates with the listener so well, that at the end of the record, any arguments of "selling out" that might've been there have simply been blown away. this record, like all of lucero's recordings, has an honesty that you just can't help but feel, and therefore can't argue with.