The Lucksmiths 'First Frost'

On First Frost, The Lucksmiths' trademark lyrical hooks shine warmer than ever '? and for the first time, all four members have racked up songwriting credits. Louis Richter's opener The Town and the Hills sets out the album's central theme of city v. country, while chief songwriter Marty Donald takes a sharpened pencil to the wilderness proper in Pines, concluding I don't mean to suggest I'm getting older, but the city looks its best over my shoulder.

Which is not to suggest that First Frost is The Lucksmiths' lost emo-country masterpiece. Song of the Undersea (with its nods to Jonathan Richman and to John Steinbeck) has a carefree swagger and a wicked way with a melody.

Similarly, A Sobering Thought (Just When One Was Needed) has hooks in abundance and concerns a late-night drunken escapade at a public swimming pool. Hey, why not?! 

Tracklisting:
1. The Town & The Hills
2. Good Light  
3. A Sobering Thought: Just When One Was Needed  
4. California In Popular Song
5. South-East Coastal Rendezvous
6. The National Mitten Registry
7. Day Three Of Five
8. Never & Always
9. Lament Of The Chiming Wedgebill
10. How We Met
11. Song Of The Undersea
12. Up With The Sun  
13. Pines