Austin Lucas' "Between The Moon And The Midwest" out today, tour starting tomorrow
18-02-2016Austin Lucas releases "Between The Moon And The Midwest", his first album since his critically praised "Stay Reckless" LP. The album is out TODAY on At The Helm / Last Chance Records. His European tour in support of the new LP kicks off tomorrow. Adam Faucett will open on all these dates:
20-Feb: Lewes (UK) @ Union Music Store
21-Feb: Oxford (UK) @ Truck Store
23-Feb: Brighton (UK) @ Prince Albert
24-Feb: Stroud (UK) @ Prince Albert
25-Feb: Topsham (UK) @ The Bridge Inn
26-Feb: Plymouth (UK) @ The Junction
28-Feb: London (UK) @ Windmill
29-Feb: Nottingham (UK) @ The Maze
01-Mar: Sheffield (UK) @ Shakespeares
02-Mar: Portsmouth (UK) @ The Square Tower
03-Mar: Oberhausen (DE) @ Druckluft
04-Mar: Herselt (BE) @ JH Choke
05-Mar: Cologne (DE) @ Rubinrot
06-Mar: Ottersum (NL) @ Roepean
07-Mar: Berlin (DE) @ Bi Nuu
08-Mar: Hamburg (DE) @ Hafenklang
09-Mar: Leipzig (DE) @ Werk2
10-Mar: Dresden (DE) @ Ostpol
11-Mar: Vienna (AT) @ Arena
12-Mar: Prague (CZ) @ Klub 007 Strahov
No one ever said country music had to be simple, and when Austin Lucas began thinking about the follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2013 album "Stay Reckless" he had a lot on his mind. The Indiana troubadour wanted to do something not only different from his own work, but unlike anything else being done in the realm of country music and Americana. "Between The Moon And The Midwest" marries traditional & cosmic country sounds with sharp, vivid storytelling in a fully realized album concept. The songs began to emerge during the 2011 "Stay Reckless" sessions and tour cycle; a tumultuous time masked by non-stop life on the road. With his marriage dissolving, Lucas began pouring his pain into fictionalized characters. "Stay Reckless" captured the experience of his divorce, and Lucas put those first few songs on the backburner while he toured heavily behind the album and avoided reflecting on the state of his personal life.
Two years later he found himself dealing with crippling anxiety and depression. Returning to the songs with a darker perspective while drawing on his life experience in rural Indiana, he crafted an intimate song cycle capturing the intricacies of friendship, love, betrayal, and the pain arising from the nature of those relationships. Being in a state of despair allowed Lucas to inhabit the characters in the story and he emerged from the darkness with the songs for "Between The Moon And The Midwest". Citing influences like Buck Owens and George Jones, Lucas had wanted to record a fully country album since 2011’s "A New Home In The Old World". Enlisting the help of Joey Kneiser - guitarist and vocalist of the Tennessee band Glossary - they crafted a sound that, while rooted in outlaw and hard country, was infused with 60s psychedelic pop like the Zombies and the Beach Boys circa "Pet Sounds". The result is a finely produced sound layered with guitar, vocal harmonies and atmospheric harmonics. "Between The Moon And The Midwest" is unique in its mix of sounds, songwriting, and influences.