Review: Lukas Nelson Combines Emotion, and Humor on ‘Sticks and Stones’

LUKAS NELSON + POTR
STICKS AND STONES
(6ACE/Thirty Tigers)
***1/2

It’s not easy being the offspring of a revered icon. For every door that’s opened and every opportunity offered, there’s also the unreasonable expectation that the offspring will equal or exceed the parent. The pressure often proves insurmountable, curtailing a career before it had any opportunity to evolve.

Fortunately, Lukas Nelson has managed to emerge undaunted. Having helmed the band Promise of the Real, now known simply as POTR, he’s managed to achieve his own level of respect and success. The group’s status as Neil Young’s backing band helped secure early credibility, and of course, his work with his dad, Willie, and his equally accomplished brother, Micah, didn’t diminish his credibility either. 

Not that it matters. Nelson is fully capable of making his own singular statement. With the 2019 album, Turn Off the News (Build a Garden), he entered the world of social commentary, expressing a plea for unity and civility in a world gone awry. Having won a Grammy (for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media), he now has a platform to provide some positivity.

Happily then, he takes that opportunity to spread civility and celebration through every new offering. Here again, the songs are spirited and assured. That’s evidenced in the jaunty, carefree title track, the ragged yet robust “Alcohallelujah,” and, naturally, the tears in the beer lament that follows “Every Time I Drink.” It’s also indicative of the rowdy yet romantic overtures conveyed in “More Than Friends,” “Ladder of Love,” and “If I Didn’t Love You.” 

Happily too, Nelson makes no apologies for his demonstrative, down-home attitude. The irony he shares in such selections as “Wrong House” and “Icarus” are two typical examples. So too, the tender sentiments shared with “Lying,” “The View,” and “All Four Winds” express deeper desire. Like his dad, Nelson has a way of combining emotion, humor, and happenstance in equal proportions. That said, no comparisons are necessary. At this point in his career, this Nelson rests on a reputation all his own.

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Photo by Harmony Gerber/Getty Images