Lucius - Second Nature

‘Second Nature’ is everything you didn’t expect from Lucius but turns out it be everything you always wanted from them, as the duo of Holly Larssig and Jess Wolfe break free from their previous more singer-songwriter country tinged sound with a dancefloor explosion.

There’s no messing about here. It’s all about the groove and each track has its own vibrant swagger and endearing sense of release. Produced by Brandi Carlile and Dave Cobb it’s the sound of Lucius making a significant reset and firmly switching things up.

There’s always been elements of this sound in their music but here it’s fully realised like never before with most tracks given a disco-tastic sheen. When they fully go all in on this it’s glorious, like on the fizzing electro pop of ‘Promises’ or the riotous fun of the title track. These massive highs are slightly tempered though by a couple of earnest ballads in ‘The Man I’ll Never Find’ and ‘White Lies’ that while definitely good songs in themselves, sound like they’ve been beamed in from a different record. Far better when they ramp up the disco vibes. When this album hits the heights, though, it really soars.