Austin Lucas review at PopMatters

Hey Kids:

The JS-NYC love affair with Austin Lucas continues.

Peep the review of Somebody Loves You here.

Thanks to Sarah Zupko at PopMatters

R

Chuck Ragan and Austin Lucas - Bristle Ridge

Ok, this is a little past topical, but JS-NYC has been dealing with some technological issues and is playing a little catch-up. You can take small consolation in the fact that JS-NYC HQ is now fully 5.1 surround compliant, a format tailor-made for those who lives are consumed with poorly recorded records and/or downloads. In smaller, but no less relevant issues, my R key is working again. Let's hope the number 5 is next.

That duly covered, Bristle Ridge is the first release on (sort of) ex-Hot Water Music singer Chuck Ragan's Ten Four Records. Co-ran with his significant-other, the record dropped last Fall. Rather than the throat shredding stuff that you would expect from HWM, Bristle Ridge is a bluegrass-inflected collaboration with current JS-NYC obsession Austin Lucas. Backed by Lucas family scion Bob, along with Jon Gaunt and Digger Barnes, Ragan and Lucas work through a dozen old-timey numbers with varying results.

Everything is proficient, with good harmonies and keening fiddle. I will add my far-from-new and/or original caveat regarding the boatload of older punks going folk to maintain continuity. I like Chuck. He is a hell of a nice guy, and his heart is in the right place, but his material pales a bit when compared to Austin Lucas. Live AL favorite Sun or Snow appears here, and it's as wonderful as you would expect. His high pure voice makes the track and Bristle Ridge for me. Songs like Cold Night show an odd Ragan vocal tendency toward Tom Jones that is mildly disconcerting for me, but I would venture that I'm one of the only old bastards that would associate the two. The duet stuff, like Hold My Bed and Simple Life, fares a little better to these ears, but you would do well to check Bristle Ridge out yourself. It's only $10 bones and you can get it here. 

It's been a minute since Bristle Ridge dropped and the gents have not been idle. Chuck's got a new record in this vein coming soon on Side One Dummy, you can keep track of it's progress here. Austin is on it, but while you're waiting for it to drop, pick up his latest Somebody Loves You from the good folk of Suburban Home and keep tabs on him here.

R

Live: Tim Barry, Austin Lucas and Josh Small @ The Knitting Factory 4.23.9

If you've been around JS-NYC in recent weeks, you are probably aware of my newfound obsession with all things Austin Lucas. Tony from Southern Lovin sent me Somebody Loves You a month or so ago and I promptly went bananas over it. As luck would have it, a bunch of places were looking for someone to write about it and Austin was coming through town with Tim Barry and Josh Small. Tony got Austin put me on the list and in the interim, I came to find out that Rut's lady Jamie knew him from Bloomington. Suffice to say, I was pretty stoked.

Josh Small opened up the night with a short set and a big rack of instruments, I only caught the last five or six songs of his set, but he's got a record out called Tall By Josh Small that I definitely want to hear. He's been playing a lot with Tim Barry and was the jack of all trades on last Summer's revival tour with Ben from Lucero and Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music). Check out Josh here and get Tall here from Suburban Home.  

Austin came out and played on Josh's last song and Small repaid the favor by sticking around for the first song of way too short a set. I was pleased to find that Austin sings as well live as you would expect him to. The set was far too short, but feature most of the high points of Somebody Loves You, save for Shoulders. I would have like to have heard Kith and Kin, but the only disappointment in the set was that it passed far too quickly. Check out Austin here and buy a copy of Somebody Loves You here immediately.

Tim Barry was next up. He took the stage like a panther and immediately launched into Dog Bumped, a take of a man who has to deal with his sister's abusive husband. The crowd went pretty apeshit and for the life of me I can't see why. I have a ton of respect for what Tim has accomplished with Avail. He's worked damn hard at plying this folky troubadour route and seems totally sincere about it. Sadly, from where I'm sitting (read: far away from his wrath) it's pretty contrived and not especially good. He was playing in the crowd two songs into the set (and pretty excited to tell everyone how he was going there) to much adulation, but after three more songs, I bailed to the front bar. I have all the respect for the Coe and Paycheck set of populist, working man's music, but the problem lies in the genre being co-opted by the Toby Keiths of the industry. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to hear Lefty crap by punk bands (or Steve Earle) either. Something about Tim's solo songs and his crowd just don't resonate with me, especially after seeing Austin Lucas. Still, if you're into that sort of thing, you can get Tim's most recent record Manchester here from Suburban Home and keep tabs on his whereabouts here.

Thanks to Tony Weinbender at Southern Lovin for the hook-up, Austin for putting me on the list (good luck in Mexico!) and Rut and Jamie for the company.

R

Austin Lucas - Somebody Loves You

Wow. That's pretty much all I can say about Somebody Loves You. Virgil from Suburban Home had mentioned that he was trying to put out a record for him, but I didn't go out of my way to check him out. There are so (perhaps too) many ex-hardcore dudes that think they are Johnny Cash in this day and age and I really can't say I was dying to hear another one.

Well, it looks like I owe Virgil a drink, as Somebody Loves You is one of the best records I've heard so far this year. I would have expected it to pop up on Bloodshot before Suburban Home, but Dickerson and the rest of the kids out Denver way are rapidly becoming one of the best all-around indie labels around today. They've got a solid roster in the roots and punk spectrums. It's been great record after great record recently, and as I find it hard to shut about it, let me reiterate another time that I couldn't be more excited that Suburban Home is releasing the new Yesterday's Ring record.

Austin is an Indiana boy, a former child vocal prodigy that did serious time in Indiana University Children's Choir, before veering off into a word of hardcore and grind for a number of years. Trust me, this is not a man unfamiliar with a basement show. He's from a musical family, with a Dad that has written for a gang of bluegrass groups including Alison Kraus. Said Lucas family patriarch (call him Bob) also recorded the songs that comprise Somebody Loves You at the family seat in Ohio. Much of the family guests as well. It's a spartan record, but it sounds wonderful. You don't need much more than his voice. Austin can sing like an angel, sounding like a young bluegrass Richard Buckner against the keening fiddles and sweet harmonies that dapple these song. Life I've Got and Precious Little Heart are particularly good, but there really isn't a bad song on Somebody Loves You. I couldn't recommend it more.

Oddly enough, Lucas splits his time between the Czech Republic and Indiana. I think that's what we call a dichotomy, but it gives him ample opportunities to tour on a couple continents. He'll be here in town a couple of weeks from now with Tim Barry for one of the last shows at the Manhattan incarnation of The Knitting Factory. Keep track of Austin's whereabouts here and buy two copies of Somebody Loves You from Suburban Home via this handy link. Might I point out that it's $8.99?!! All props due to Suburban Home for consistently putting out some of the best records you'll hear today.

R