Never has a simple “FFO” been so difficult, or still felt so very wrong after hours of deliberation. The Lucid Furs second (or third*) full album release “Damn! That was Easy” sounds so achingly familiar; yet so catchy and beautifully crafted you know it’s brand new. It’s like a love letter to a hot and sweaty night in a downstairs Blues club, totally losing your shit to some hard rocking Grace Slick-alike and her cohort of “A-Grade” musical sidekicks. Hailing from the metropolis of Detroit, The Lucid Furs take the recipe for hard and heavy Rocking Blues and give it their own distinctive, and delicious twist.
Putting it in the simplest and most direct way, this is a damned fine album. Nine tracks that make just over half an hour of effortlessly cool, soulful, and deeply melodic Blues magic. Musicianship of the highest order? Check. Great, distinctive vocals? Check. Atmosphere by the bucketful? Almost needless to say.
Most importantly though, the songs themselves are just sublime. So many bands playing Hard Blues today can do the licks, tricks, and dazzle with solos till the cows come home, very few can consistently craft memorable, hook-laden songs as well as The Lucid Furs.
2017’s “This Ain’t no Mating Dance”, and 2019’s excellent “No God? No Problem” are in similar Heavy Blues and Hard Rock styles, and are worthy precursors to “Damn! That was Easy”. Karen O’Connor’s high-toned vocals simply ooze late night cool, and serve as a perfect foil to Gordie Kasza’s exemplary Power Blues guitar work. The engine room of rhythm are not just there as timekeepers; Nick James’s bass rumbles and growls like a feral beast prowling after dark, Dan Regender cranks the intensity up with insistent and meticulously precise drumming. The overall effect is stunning.
Note * The band say “This Ain’t No Mating Dance” is an album, the label says it’s an EP. I say it’s just seven great songs released together.
