Lucas Hudgins

Lucas Hudgins

Honky-tonk can't shuffle anymore effectively than it does behind Lucas Hudgins. The local songwriter's sophomore album is as authentic as they come, dripping regret with each beer and turn around the dance floor. Hudgins' voice is the main draw, deep and trembling and so smooth as to effortlessly invoke icons like Charlie Pride and Conway Twitty. "Inside It's Pouring" and "Three Chairs" quake with vulnerability, while David Leroy Biller's pedal steel cries beautifully in commiseration. "Country Song" drives a harder tempo, and "More Whine" cuts the requisite puns that drift from familiar into trite, but "Your Heart Just Slipped My Mind" wrings the poignant from the clever, and "The Man Who Makes Her Cry" pounds out like Waylon Jennings. Closer "Follow the Signs" brings crying time back around with the album's most crushing plea, but Hudgins is heartbreak's best friend.