Lucero

Nobody’s Darlings

[2] Lucero are a great band. Unfortunately, their fifth full-length, Nobody’s Darlings, isn’t a great album-in fact, it barely qualifies as “okay.” Maybe it has something to do with the departure of guitarist Todd Gill, or maybe all those late nights of whiskey drinking have finally seeped into frontman Ben Nichols’ brain; but compared to 2003’s That Much Further West, Nobody’s Darlings sounds like a collection of rough demos. Most of these straight-ahead 4/4 rockers are virtually indecipherable from one another, while tracks like “California” are merely a retread of what Uncle Tupelo already perfected over a decade ago. Seriously, save your cash and buy a Drive-By Truckers CD or something. You’ll thank us in the morning. (LIBERTY & LAMENT) –Jonah Bayer