Jeffrey Luck Lucas, Hell Then Divine (Antebellum)

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There once was a time when a young man with a gravelly voice and a fistful of brilliantly-written tales of loss and despair could make a name for himself without having to be tagged and identified as part of the "new, free folk" or "new, weird America".

Let´s hope enough exceptions still exist (Marissa Nadler gives us hope), because on the merits of his first solo album, Jeffrey Luck Lucas deserves a following, and more than a medium-sized one at that. On Hell Then Devine, Lucas proves to be a country agonist with Daniel Lanois-like production and a Dylanesque literary imagination. It´s a great instument, that voice, world weary beyond its years.

The production values (brought to the session by Desmond Shea) help to raise the record to even loftier heights. Strongly reminiscent of the aforementioned Lanois in its spaciousness (I´m thinking of his own solo albums as well as his work on Dylan´s Oh Mercy and with Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson, respectively), and in its application of the odd brushstroke of monochrome electronica. It also compares favourably with Pierre Marchand´s production of Kate & Anna McGarrigle´s Heartbeats Accelerating, even in its general mood of quiet desperation.

The eleven tracks are short epics torn from the parched countryside of southwest America. They move at a slow but determined crawl, and are dark, cinematic, intense, remorselessly unromantic, even a little seedy.

The only shame about this album, beyond the fact that it has not reached the large audience it deserves, is that it does not come with a lyrics sheet. Because like Dylan, Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen, the text is so finely wrought that you want to be certain you´ve heard every word right.

Addendum: I have just been informed that the album lyrics are available online: <http://jeffreylucklucas.com/HTDlyrics.htm>