Review: Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Sticks and Stones
Self-produced eighth LP swings looser and more comfortably
Reviewed by Doug Freeman, Fri., July 21, 2023
The eighth studio LP from Lukas Nelson and his formidable Promise of the Real band feels intentionally re-emergent. Following the contemplative country meditations that defined 2021's A Few Stars Apart and 2019's Turn Off the News (Build a Garden), Nelson swings looser and more comfortably here, more barroom stage than backroad sage. Self-produced, Nelson noted that he wanted songs that could move a crowd, which Sticks and Stones delivers in sound and ethos. The title track immediately kicks in the backbeat and bluesy rip, a country-funk with laid-back electric riffs running into the gospel-tinged send-up of "Alcohallelujah." Expanding his range, the album showcases Nelson's voice more prominently than ever before, from low growls to the high-lonesome sustain of "Every Time I Drink." A centerpiece duet with rising showstopper Lainey Wilson ("More Than Friends") dishes dueling twang like a Seventies-era classic, while the climbing "Ladder of Love," reeling "Wrong House," and throwback honky-tonk of "Icarus" all roll through with an eclectic, effortless rollick. "Lying" is really the only tune that settles down. Trembling with heartbreak, the refrain – "I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish that I was lying here with you" – presents the best play on words in an album playfully, smartly packed full of them.
