Lucero isn’t the first group to mix punk rock’s aggression with country’s penchant for twang, but the Memphis, Tennessee, act has spent the last decade becoming the band of choice for PBR-swilling, trucker-hat-wearing fans everywhere. Although the group’s latest release, last month’s 1372 Overton Park, continues down the more rock-oriented path of 2006’s Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers, Lucero is perennially the bastard son of the Replacements and Uncle Tupelo. (Front man Ben Nichols’s whiskey-soaked vocals can even make driving directions sound introspective.) Seeing Lucero live always provides the full experience — and hell, if you’re good, they might even cover Jawbreaker’s “Kiss the Bottle.”
This article appears in Nov 5-11, 2009.