Between the Moon & the Midwest (Big Chance, 2016)
Austin Lucas
Reviewed by Brian Baker
In 2015, Lucas revisited the songs conceived around the time of his divorce while struggling with a new bout of depression. Drawing on influences like Buck Owens and George Jones, Lucas began assembling "Between the Moon & the Midwest," a conceptual song cycle about love, loss, loyalty and betrayal from the viewpoint of a fictional but familiar couple. Aided by friend and Glossary front man Joey Kneiser, Lucas crafted a magnificent soundtrack that bristles with country authenticity and sparkles with cosmic cowboy tracers, sounding like a brilliant collaboration between Dwight Yoakam and Sturgill Simpson.
The lead track, "Unbroken Heart," slams with outlaw country fury while shimmering with a psychedelic buzz, while "Ain't We Free" offers plenty of Waylon Jennings swagger and Shooter Jennings attitude. One of the many highlights of "Between the Moon & the Midwest" is Lucas' transcendent duet with Lydia Loveless on "The Wrong Side of the Dream," a detailed account of the downside of life on the road, and the gentle "Pray for Rain" and propulsive "The Flame" should be elbowing their way up the straight country charts. Or perhaps we should just dispense with genre tags and call it good music and place Austin Lucas at the top of that chart.
CDs by Austin Lucas
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