| tracklist: | |
| 0 1. Somebody Loves You 02. Singing Man 03. Resting Place 04. Shoulders 05. Wash My Sins Away 06. Fountain Of Youth |
07. She Did 08. Life I've Got 09. Precious Little Heart 10. Go West 11. Farewell |
info:
Recorded in December 2008 by his father, Bob Lucas, at the Lucas
family home in Ohio, Somebody LovesYou finds Lucas backed by his father,
Chris Westhoff, and Todd Beene (Lucero), and accompanied by his sister, Chloe Manor.
The collective effort of the Lucas family on Somebody Loves You reflects the clan's deep
musical heritage; Austin spent six formative years as a member of the nationally-acclaimed
Indiana University Children's Choir, while his father has songwriting credits on two of Allison
Kraus' albums, including 1997's Grammy-winning So Long So Wrong.
The new material accelerates
Lucas' growth as a songwriter, continuing to expand upon the storytelling and instrumentation
of The Common Cold (Hometown Caravan/ Sabotage, 2006), Putting The Hammer Down (Hometown
Caravan/ Magic Bullet, 2007), and his recent collaboration with Chuck Ragan, Bristle Ridge
(Ten Four/ Hometown Caravan, 2008). While Bristle Ridge teemed with the energy of an all-night
barnburner, much of Somebody Loves You evokes the ambience of an Appalachian sunset waltz; Todd
Beene’s pedal steel softly pulls focus like stars in a new night sky, while Chloe Manor's
background vocals shade the songs in the fading warmth of dusk. Fiddle, banjo and upright
bass are woven throughout, but it is Lucas' guitar and vocals that anchor each song.
Beyond his accomplished picking, Lucas' voice defines his music, reaching from the
intimacy of a lover to the fervor of a sinner begging atonement.
Stylistically and thematically, the lyrics of Somebody Loves You ring
more timeless and universal than those of Lucas' past work. Whereas the
characters in many of Lucas' prior songs lived and died by the rhythms of
the touring lifestyle and its accompanying benders and long-distance loss,
the songs of Somebody Loves You feature Lucas employing the voice of a preacher
bereft of his faith, coloring the tales with both the grandeur of religious
imagery and the notion of the body as a perishable vessel. Throughout the album,
Lucas subtly rephrases lines, switching perspective from first to second- and third-person,
creating an ambiguity that enables the songs to resonate uniquely with each listener.
Ultimately, Somebody Loves You is the album that will close the book on Austin Lucas'
tenure as the best-kept secret of the punk underground and bring him to the attention
of alt-country and Americana fans everywhere. Lucas will be touring the US and Europe
extensively in 2009.