Lucer – Ghost Town
LUCER
GHOST TOWN
Mighty Music
Release: January 25, 2019
Copenhagen based Lucer is back with their second album, “Ghost Town”, the successor to the hit debut “Bring Me Good News” from 2016. The debut secured the band 2 years of extensive touring activity all over Europe, and physical distribution worldwide. With more than 250 live shows and a rock solid print in the Danish and European rock world, Lucer has also made a substantial impact on the international rock scene. Fronted by the brothers Lasse & Anders Bøgemark on vocals, bas and guitars, plus Kristoffer Kristensen on guitars and Jonathan Nørgaard and drums, Lucer is the most promising rock band from Denmark in more than 10 years.
With a brand new sound that is a unique combination of rock with a modern and massive feel, along with many hooky melodies, some pop elements, and a Nordic touch, “Ghost Town” is sure to please rock fans all over the world. Commenting on the album, Danish music producer Tue Madsen stated that: “Every song is a hit in its own way. Nice, solid rock, Motown and disco in a great mix.”
Tracklist:
Indestructable
Ghost town
Crazy
Mirror of a man
The night the music died
Party like a rockstar
Young pretty stupid
The good life
Killer
California
If I were to describe “Ghost Town” is a few words, I would say that it is a feel-good rock album, and I don’t know if this is because of the rather up-tempo beat melodies, the smooth vocal delivery, or the general light and breezy atmosphere of the songs, or maybe it’s a combination of these three elements. The truth is, the album makes for a very easy but enjoyable listening experience. Kicking off the proceedings in style with some heavy drumming and clean guitars on the mid-tempo rocker “Indestructable”, the album then kind of drags a bit with the next few (experimental) songs like the reggae influenced title track “Ghost town” and the electro-infused “Crazy”. It picks up pace again with the power ballad “The night the music died”, and the rocker “Party like a rock star”, which see Lucer at their best, with catchy melodies and groovy guitar lines.
Lyrically, “The night the music died” is about the behind the scenes of the music industry, and I can’t help but feel intrigued by how blunt yet candid they are about this topic, while “Party like a rock star” talks about the lifestyle a typical rockstar (in a rather ironic way). I do believe these two songs are the core of the album, and would work well live. “Young pretty stupid” has a rather country / western vibe to it, and again is about the things somebody would do to be famous, albeit rather cliché lyric-wise. Though musically good-ish, “The good life” lacks the lyrical depth and emotion of Three Days Grace’s song with the same title, Lucer singing about house-wives for some reason. The last track, “California” features different, deeper vocals, which I believe belong to Anders Bøgemark, and has some old-school alternative rock vibe to it.
Ebbing and flowing between good tracks and some filler tracks, “Ghost Town” does leave you feeling somewhat energized and in a rather good mood. If the guitar lines, vocal delivery, drum beats are well executed, making for some great song structures, the lyrical content of some songs could be better, as far as I am concerned at least. All in all, it’s a solid, and quite varied, rock album that could be commercially successful.
Rating: 7 / 10
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By Andrea
24/2/2019
Line-up:
Lasse Bøgemark – Bass, vocal
Anders Bøgemark – Guitar
Kristoffer Kristensen – Guitar
Jonathan Nørgaard – Drums