Description
Detroit's Craig Brown Band effuse a pleasantly scruffy dive bar vibe on their debut LP, The Lucky Ones Forget. A mix of lo-fi country and Midwestern rock slackery, the sextet is formed around the singing, songwriting, and guitar slinging talents of Craig Brown, a fixture of the Motor City's punk scene since the mid-2000s. Brown's rickety but rocking approach and blue collar feel make him a good fit for both this style of music and for Third Man, the Jack White-owned label that signed them in 2016.
Standouts like the poppy "I Wondered What" and the brief-but-mighty road rocker "Get This Money" show a band with plenty of spirit and grit, though they can also change gears with the occasional witty ballad, like on the deadbeat honky tonk of album-closer "Mine's Better." Throughout the album, Brown's rasping tenor is complemented nicely by the sweet-toned Drinkard Sisters, the Detroit sibling duo who make up one-third of his band. While not showy, The Lucky Ones Forget is an easy listen that hangs together well and makes for a solid debut.