drop-d.ie album and gig review "Thank God for Lucas, who prove that they can not only live up to the high standards set by their long residence in Irelands west (they’ve been together in one shape or form for the past 7 years) but, with the launch of their sublime sophomore effort “Letters to a Friend”, far exceed prior expectations. Recorded over a matter of 6 months – amazing when you consider the quality in every aspect of the recording and production – the album marks their quasi-return to the fold after an 8-month hiatus. Having worked in the past with producer Rob Fraboni (producer of such seminal artists as Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Joe Cocker) this effort was created domestically in Abhaile Studios Ballinrobe. Lead singer Alan Gray maintains that “going into this we knew a lot better where we were at and what exactly we wanted to do after the first album (“Pieced From Faded Memory”)”. With the album finished, packaged and ready to distribute independently, all that was left was to pitch the new material to the punters of the Roisin Dubh, the bands home crowd if you will. There have been many changes to line – up of Lucas since its conception in 2000, but as the members file onstage for the launch of their album in the Roisin Dubh, it’s visible that this is how it was meant to be played. Arranging themselves behind their preferred weapons, guitarist Anto, bassist Aidan “The Engine” Kenny and drummer Peadar Carney surround vocalist Alan Gray with the air of troops being led once more into the breach. But one thing is distinct from their poise as they lull the crowd into the serene “Another Song for You and Me”, there is no front man or centre to this universe; it truly is a collective effort. Talking to Alan later that night, his unabashed enthusiasm for his cohorts and self-deprecating manner is infectious. As chief lyric writer he bears a lot of the weight of the bands success, but he is keen to establish that each of the members create a part of the bigger picture. “Aidan plays so intelligently,” he articulates, “he never plays fills just for the sake of playing fills – everything is exactly where it should be. The basis of this band is Anto on guitar, Aidan on bass and Peadar on drums – I play parts on the guitar but it’s mainly to add another layer to the sound more than anything”. Just as the instrumental aspects of the music are of the highest order, so to are the lyrics. Charged with emotion and regaling both the good times and the bad, Alan’s astute observations round off the audio meaning of the songs. From the simple, yet unassumingly effective, longing for what might have been in “Another Song for You and Me” to the heart wrenching sting of hindsight that is “Clothes and Make-Up”, he never hits a dud note – breathing life through each word. And just as the string and percussion sections tend towards schizophrenia – hushed one moment, raucous and emblazoned with electricity the next – so too does the vocals; cascading through notes like waves, Alan’s vocal styling never cease to surprise. If a gig that is doubling as an album launch is to succeed there needs to be memorable moments infused onto the synapses of every punter leaving the venue that night, clutching their precious new find. This is where the band exceed themselves: from a performance filled with so many nuances, via the passion with which they assert themselves onto our conscience, down to the amazing care and detail used by Fergal Flannery when designing the album sleeve -every CD coming with a personal note, hand- affixed air-mail stamps and a wax L seal on the back – they present a full and finished product. Ending the set proper with “Street Noises”, they segue with the songs transcendental guitar work and wall-of-sound bass work surrounded only by sudden pitch darkness on stage. With 4 further accomplices joining them on stage it denotes exactly where their heads are: as the material is new, the audience need every push to feel part of the proceedings. That’s one way to accomplish crowd participation… When they finally return to the stage, they manage to amass around 12 people (I stopped counting, being carried away by the sheer euphoria the band instilled in the audience) altogether to help with old favourite “Cobwebs and Dreams”. Friends and long-term collaborators like Ted Cronin join in the festivities, which only further the special nature of the night. Rendezvousing with Alan a few days later for a retrospect of how he felt the night in general went, I ask him the most obvious but almost the most telling of questions: What does the music mean to him? A simple answer: “I’m never happier than when I’m on stage”. This pretty much sums up the ethos behind Lucas: when they’re on stage they look like they were conceived there, born into the music. Watching the bands dominating shapes move around the stage, it’s like witnessing the spark that will start this city’s largest fire ever; greatness is truly only a matter of steps away."