Finally, after all the talk, all the speculation and all the handwringing over majors and horns, Lucero's sixth studio album, 1372 Overton Park, is out! It seems near impossible to write about this album without mentioning the doubts of long-time Lucero followers. At the same time, it almost feels selfish to rehash them over and over again. Is Lucero required to stay within their fans' safe zones? If that's the case, is it really fair to the band? Simple fact is, fair or not, the words "major label debut" and "horns" have made a lot of us more than a little nervous about the future of this beloved rambling crew from Memphis. And the nervousness was topped by Ben's (and to a lesser sense, the band's) appearance on the MTV faux-reality series, $5 Dollar Cover, which prompted much discussion about Lucero selling out from many of the band's longtime fans. If any of these concerns even registered with the band, they've handled it in pretty typical Lucero fashion — by forging ahead making their music the way they want it made. With the official release date upon us, the only question that matters is whether you like it, or whether you don't.
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 7, 2009.