The Memphis band Lucero’s goals for its fifth album, “Rebels, Rogues and Sworn Brothers,” were modest, according to frontman Ben Nichols.

“It’s pretty much the same thing we do every time,” says Nichols, 32. “You try to make a record that you’re a little bit happier with and is a little bit closer to the mark you want than you’ve come before.

“I think we actually did that on this record, for a number of reasons.”

Nichols says the album benefited from being recorded at producer (and Cracker frontman) David Lowery’s Sound of Music studios in Richmond, Va. And the presence of Cat Power keyboardist Rick Steff, who’s touring with Lucero this fall, also helped flesh out the songs.

But Nichols says “Rebels” succeeds because Lucero opened its sound up even further, mixing its rock and Southern infl uences into an Americana kind of sound that did not lean overwhelmingly in any one stylistic direction.

“One of the nice things about Lucero is we’re not too strictly defined soundwise,” Nichols says. “We can go in a number of different directions — soft, loud, slow, fast. I never really feel trapped into a certain sound, and I think our crowd has been very open to that, too.”



Lucero, Rocky Votolato and William Elliott Whitmore perform Saturday (November 4th) at the Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10. Call (313) 833-9700 or visit