Summertime in Memphis

Memphis country-punk band Lucero is lightening the mood with their twelfth studio album. Should’ve Learned by Now is primed for summer and ready to be loaded into the CD player for a long country drive.

According to Lucero, the album is a collection of “(mostly) upbeat songs” that didn’t fit the darker themes of their last two albums. “(Mostly) upbeat” is an understatement as the album feels downright jubilant. It sounds like simpler times, like you would hear it at a rodeo or a local bar and everyone of all ages would be dancing along. It has that down-home, campfire, local jam band kind of sound without sounding amateur.

The album touches on themes of love, goodbyes and letting be, but is not melancholy. It’s a “sad it’s over, but glad it happened” “que sera sera” kind of album. “The path ahead turns so many ways / Just because you might know right where you are / does not mean you’re not lost,” sings vocalist Ben Nichols in “She Leads Me.” Lucero steps out of the typically narrow lyrical confines of country music, even getting a little emo on the album’s title track which is essentially an ode to intrusive thoughts.

For a band with a 25-year history and ambitious tour schedules, Lucero seems remarkably unpretentious, like if you had a beer with the band, they might casually mention that they make music, but they wouldn’t make a big deal about it. In their own words, “the album is basically about how we know we are fuckups and I guess we are ok with that.”

There’s an unforced realness to the music. In a time when “accidental” accessory noises have become so overused that they too often detract from the authenticity of the song, the “Did we get it?” at the end of “Macon If We Make It” feels somewhat endearing. Should’ve Learned By Now feels like the result of the band making music purely for the joy of making music.

The album is fairly consistent from start to finish. It’s more of a “have it on in the background” kind of album than a “get into it and rock out” kind of album, but the listener may catch themselves tapping their foot a little harder to “One Last F.U.” and “Nothing’s Alright” which pack a little more punch than the rest of the tracks on the album.

Fans of both rock and country are likely to enjoy Lucero’s new album. Those who think every country song sounds the same may level the same critique at Should’ve Learned By Now, but the album is unlikely to offend anyone. It has an ease to it that would draw in anyone who just likes good music. Not too twangy, not too loud, Should’ve Learned by Now is good old-fashioned music for good times.