Luego

"Luego is a new one to watch in Durham. Part of the band's smarts lies in its balance between warm, folksy Dylan-esque rock-economics and the solid build of weepy symphony strings." - Independent Weekly

Luego were radio-ready with their infectuous melodies and sharp arrangements - Indy Weekly

Review in Augusta, GA’s Metro Spirit

Luego

"I Know, I Know," OrbitAround Management

BY JOSH RUFFIN

Luego
"I Know, I Know"
OrbitAround Management
Available Now

AUGUSTA, GA. - Luego's "I Know, I Know" is that rare type of album that, even after eight or 10 listens, forces me to decide whether a contented sigh or a frustrated slap against the forehead would be more appropriate. When the first minute of the first song brings to mind six or seven different possible influences, I've just got to live with the fact that I'm in for a mandatory psycho-dissection…this kind of thing is usually reserved for Pig Destroyer or Tim Buckley, and I find it simultaneously refreshing and maddening that a band can do this to me with nothing more than a five-song EP.

Songwriter/guitarist/singer Patrick Phelan's bizarrely childlike upper register is what Jerry Garcia probably would have sounded like at 16; the man's voice is whimsical without sacrificing that self-aware tone that accompanies early-gotten wisdom, just lazy enough to fall markedly short of careless. It makes for a nice juxtaposition with the rumbling cello of Dan Carlin, whose interplay with violist Rebecca Wood drives songs like the sans-Shane McGowan Pogues-esque "Sawed-Off Shotgun" forward with a steady, if charmingly off-kilter, pace.

The rest of the album recalls a mixture of Randy Newman, Devendra Banhart, Arcade Fire, the Flaming Lips, and everything in between; "Get Under You" could be Radiohead playing for tips in a jazz lounge. It's quite obvious that this isn't the best Phelan and company can do—it can get a bit haphazard at times—but they seem to be moving towards a defining cohesion and, let's face it, I'm a sucker for this stuff. - Metro Spirit

The Luego Process:
It's rock 'n' roll, and they like it

BY: ANGELA CRUZ

"Some songs are narratives, some songs are ass-shakers. I hope they make you want more. Make you hungry. I hope they fill the room," Patrick Phelan says about the songs from Luego, the band to which he belongs.

After watching the film Don't Look Back about Bob Dylan, Phelan switched from playing piano to classical guitar. He continued to be inspired by "performers moving [him] to tears." Completely passionate about music, he continues, "It's doing something to the point where it becomes second nature, then first nature, then to the point that you can no longer think about it. It is who you are, and there's no question anymore." Music for Phelan should be given everything—mind and body, heart and soul. "It's the only thing that has meaning to me."

Thanks to his unwaivering enthusiasm, it wasn't long before Phelan was ready to start a band that would be just as dedicated to music as he is. Luego started with a few changes in members over the past few years, "letting go of the violinist and the lead guitarist, replacing the drummer with Dan Cook and adding a cellist, Dan Carlin." The band even considers friend and manager Orbit "just as much a member of the band as anybody." Add Jason Hedrick on bass and Leugo is complete—and completely encapsulated by their place on the music scene.

Carlin describes their indie sound as "catchy but also [with] depth. This is usually the essential balance for drawing [us] into music. We have a strong pop sensibility, but at the same time, we also strive for new sounds, things that no one has heard before."
Phelan elaborates: "In general fans of any sort of DIY-bluegrass tend to like us, probably because of the cello, and the twinges of folk and country in our sound."

"I Need Some" is one of the band's favorite songs to perform because of its ability to make the crowd shake some ass but also because, as Phelan puts it, "It rocks pretty hard." The lyrics talk of a heartbreaking bitch and the stupid boy who keeps coming for more: "Bring out the worst in me, you do/But you bring out the best in me, you do/I can't help myself/I can't help myself."

Carlin has a personal favorite, too: "Sawed Off Shotgun." He says, "It is our most expansive song, and the dynamics and textures go from music-box small to Grand Canyon-large throughout the whole thing. The lyrics are about the connections to our primal roots that still remain and in some ways are the most beautiful parts of human nature. The end I especially enjoy because it has such a hard-hitting climax, bathing the audience in a wave of sound."

Phelan knows the struggles of being a small North Carolina-based band but enjoys every aspect of slowly becoming a known band. "The 'vagabond' lifestyle is something that you have to do as you do your time. Plus, it's rock 'n' roll. Wake up on somebody's floor, in the clothes you played last night's show in, put on your jacket, clean up the mess you made, leave a nice note, grab your instrument, walk outside, put on your sunglasses, light a cigarette, talk to a priest passing by, load the car, drink some coffee, eat some breakfast and head to the next place." As a part of pulling away from the Duke University scene, Luego is touring a weekend at a time.

Hopes for Wilmington are simple, according the the lead singer. "If we're lucky, we'll get the indie-rock crowd to come to the show, stand cross-armed and eat up the show, then we'll all head out afterwards and talk, have a beer and meet friends and fans. Carlin adds, "New places are both challenging and rewarding to play in. No one knows you, so you have to win the crowd over from scratch. But there is nothing more encouraging than someone who has never heard you before saying that they like your sound, because that really feels like progress."

Indie rockers are invited to stand with crossed arms December 1st at the Soapbox, allowing Luego to persuade bodies into a little ass-shaking. Also playing is Wilmington's favorite bluegrass band, Barnraisers. - Encore Magazine

"Riding the Beggars-Banquet ambitions of singer Patrick Phelan, Luego delivered a set of good-old boozy country rock that had enough vibrant life and good turns of phrase to still sound fresh." - The Daily Tar Heel, Diversions blog, by Jordan Lawrence