Lucero Plan 10th Album “Where You Found Me”

Wildly-influential alt-rock band Lucero will be releasing their 10th album on January 29th, 2021 called Where You Found Me through their own label Liberty and Lament, distributed by Thirty Tigers. The first single from the album called “Outrun The Moon” has just been released (listen below).
You’ll be hard pressed to find a songwriter in alt-country and Americana who doesn’t say Lucero and frontman Ben Nichols is not a significant influence on them. Where You Found Me finds Ben Nichols continuing to mature in his perspective after the birth of his daughter Izzy (now 4-years-old), and also dabbling a little bit with old-school synthesizers in parts.
“I wanted a very classic rock sound for this album,” says Ben Nichols. “I wanted it to sound like stuff I heard on the radio growing up. I didn’t want to make a retro record at all, but I did want to reference some of those sounds and tones and moods. I think we struck a nice balance between nostalgia and something that still sounds like contemporary Lucero.”
Lucero recorded When You Found Me over two weeks in July of 2020 at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis. They all wore masks and worked in a “bubble” scenario to help avoid any COVID-19 entanglements. The band hadn’t played together since the beginning of the pandemic. Well-known producer Matt Ross-Spang, who also produced Lucero’s 2018 album Among The Ghosts, signed on again as producer and engineer.

“I’m not sure how much longer I would’ve been around if it wasn’t for my wife and daughter and the family I have now,” Nichols says. “I feel like they saved me, and they keep saving me every day. Izzy likes me to sing “When You Found Me” to her now at bedtime after we read the fairytales. She says, ‘Sing me the I’m gonna be okay song.’”
The lineup for Lucero currently consists of Nichols, Brian Venable on guitar, Rick Steff on keys, John C. Stubblefield on bass, and Roy Berry on drums. Ben says he fleshed out most of the songs on more involved demo recordings compared to previous records. “The band did an excellent job of taking those parts and making them their own,” he says, while producer Matt Ross-Spang was “…able to get all the sounds we wanted on the album while making sure we stayed true to ourselves.”
Where You Found Me is now available for pre-order.
Tracklist
1. Have You Lost Your Way?
2. Outrun The Moon
3. Coffin Nails
4. Pull Me Close, Don’t Let Go
5. Good As Gone
6. All My Life
7. Good As Gone
8. Back in Ohio
9. A City on Fire
10: When You Found Me
October 27, 2020 @ 8:59 am
Just curious why you have never reviewed a Drive-by Truckers album. I assumed it was because they were too far off the country music path, but I would say DBT is more country than Lucero.
October 27, 2020 @ 9:25 am
That’s a good question. I’m definitely a proponent of the early catalog of the Drive-By Truckers, “The Dirty South,” “Decoration Day,” et al. But a lot of their best stuff came out before SCM was around, sort of like Elizabeth Cook, and now their new stuff is less country, and in some cases, less good. I still need to spend more time with their latest record, but I just haven’t found something lately that I think there’s value in me reviewing. Drive-By Truckers tend to not get as overlooked as Lucero. In fairness, I’ve only reviewed one Lucero record, and it was probably the most country of their career. Main reason I posted this was because I really like this new song “Outrun The Moon,” and wanted to throw some attention behind it.
October 27, 2020 @ 9:31 am
I have this tradition of when it comes to buying my first album of the year, it’s gotta be from the new year. This is going to be the one. Now if I can only go 29 days without buying music…
October 27, 2020 @ 9:35 am
Lucero is like a physical place–somewhere you’re comfortable, and somewhere you always feel welcome. I think I’m going to like this less than the last two albums (I consider What a Man Should Do to be every bit as good as Southeastern), but I hope to be pleasantly surprised. Classic Rock influences just don’t do anything for me. This song is pretty good.
October 27, 2020 @ 12:14 pm
All a Man Should Do***
October 27, 2020 @ 10:14 am
Love me some Lucero, thanks SCM!
October 27, 2020 @ 10:27 am
Love Lucero, say them in 2018 at Ryman and Ben got so drunk he forgot the words to songs and slurred his way through most of the last set. Still a big fan and excited for this album but highly disappointed with the live show.
October 27, 2020 @ 10:40 am
Ha, us long time fans go to their shows expecting to see that happen. It adds to the charm!
October 27, 2020 @ 10:39 am
Best band in the land, can’t wait to hear the full album!
October 27, 2020 @ 10:56 am
Ultimately, the fanbase will decide if this newer sound direction is right for Lucero. For me, I hate the 80s synth beat sounds in this song. Awful…I like Brian’s guitar tone but would love to hear him let loose and rip like he did on the Rebels, Rogues and Sworn Brothers record. Ben has wisely focused on his health, quit the smoking and slowed down the drinking. However, he lost his growl on the vocals.
Where Lucero was best , was when they sounded like greasy, gritty southern rocking Memphis Boys with power and swagger in their music. I thought the addition of Jim Spake on horns was brilliant in capturing the true Memphis sound.
Now, if this song is a harbinger of what’s to come, im not sure thats a good thing. The song itself is ok, catchy in a way, but the execution sells them short IMO. Classic rock? Well. Classic rock doesn’t need synth to make it great. Big guitar is where its at. I do love the fact that they recorded it at Sam Phillips with Matt Ross Spang at the helm. Hopefully there are yet to be heard some great Memphis moments to be found on this record.
October 27, 2020 @ 11:14 am
I hear you and partially agree, but the horns can stay away!
I was blown away by their last album, after they put out the 2 weakest efforts in their catalog the two before that IMO. I’m hoping at least some of this new album catches some of that same sound from Among the Ghosts.
October 31, 2020 @ 10:41 am
What album would you say Ben’s voice is at its “best”? I put best in quotations because of course his voice has never been traditionally good, but I love it. For me, Rebels and Rogues was probably my favorite era of his voice even if that’s not my favorite album.
October 31, 2020 @ 1:58 pm
Trainwreck, Bens voice was pretty “good” meaning it had that growl and bite in it, on Rebels and Rogues and also 1372 Overton. I remember seeing the band live a few times during that period, and Ben’s voice had that, to quote a music critic, “whiskey soaked” rasp to it. Paired with the uptempo driving sound they had going, it was a good combination for my ears. Then I saw them on later tours like Women and Work and Ben’s voice had noticeably lost that edge. I was told that quitting smoking and backing off the sauce had made the difference.
Weird, but you listen to early stuff like Tennessee and his voice was thinner sounding at that time. Not the same menace and growl he would later be known for. I did like the songwriting on Tenneesee quite a bit, but these days I prefer the more rocking Lucero over the Alt-Country version. I believe they are best when they sound more southern rock.
October 27, 2020 @ 11:50 am
I agree that Among The Ghosts (2018) was one of their stronger efforts and All a Man Should Do (2016) is their weakest effort. What he is on, Ben Nichols has written some of my favorite songs of all time (Texas and Tennessee, Nights like These, 1979) but I am unsure if this is the sound that captures them with this lead single. Carry Me Home, that they released before this (but may not be a single?) is much better in my opinion. Regardless, as someone who’s been lucky enough to see them around 20 times in the last 8 years, there’s not a harder working, more likable and relatable band out there than these guys, especially Ben. I am really excited what’s to come next for them and thanks for recognizing them Trig!
October 27, 2020 @ 1:37 pm
The drive by truckers have taken all the energy they used to put in to making good music in to sucking off the black lives matter movement and becoming the fuck Trump band. Yeah, I’m salty about it because they were my favorite band for a long time. Furthermore when you talk to people on their fan pages and voice how you would like to see their music go back to what it used to be, instead of so overtly political, they peg you as some narrow minded, right wing lunatic that couldn’t have ever possibly understood the Trucker’s music from day one. The band and the little niche fan club they have, are all ideologues. And the music is trash.
Glad I got that off my chest. Ben Nichols is the man by the way. Much love to lucero. They’ve been grinding for a lot of years. I remember seeing them for the first time at the food truck festival in Atlanta. They killed.
October 27, 2020 @ 3:43 pm
Ben has one of those voices that can be so poignant it almost hurts, songs like Smoke and The Man I Was hit me hard. As for this song, hope there’s not to many cheesy keyboards in them, It wounded what was a good song.
October 28, 2020 @ 5:39 am
great band that has consistently put out solid albums for many years. This one sounds to like it’s going to be another good one.