What’s it say about a band when a collection of outtakes from their previous studio effort is superior to that album itself? When it’s Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, it’s a sign of humility and self-awareness. 2020’s Naked Garden outshone Turn Off the News (Build A Garden) in both clarity of arrangement and production as well as musicianship, so perhaps those are the virtues POTR sought in recording a follow-up album with Dave Cobb as a producer at RCA Studio A in Nashville. But the camaraderie isn’t so evident here, to the point this new record sounds less like a group effort than a Lukas Nelson solo record, albeit one with its own particular set of attributes.
That contradiction makes sense in the context of this precocious ensemble’s discography though. Ever since the unit began recording, they have had some issues capturing the mix of sprawling rock and heartrending introspection that resonated so clearly on Wasted. It’s an identity crisis of sorts the band resolved with the previous release, so it’s a courageous move to begin this new one on such a languorous note as “We’ll Be Alright:” running over five minutes, it hearkens directly to the group’s eponymous 2017 release as another overt bid for mainstream followers.
In almost startling contrast, grand flourishes of electric guitar parallel soaring steel lines to conjure some real drama on the forthright rock of the very next number “Perennial Bloom (Back to You).” But there’s still a sense of constriction in the band’s playing and it echoes within “Throwin’ Away Your Love,” too, though to a slightly lesser degree; this tune has a rhythm all it’s own mirrored in Nelson’s vocal delivery and the percussion of Tato Melgar. The prominence of Logan Metz’ organ and piano hints at the versatility of POTR and their ability to utilize that virtue in a disciplined setting.
It does not, however, evince the group chemistry that permeated the earliest records as well as Naked Garden.“No Reason” solidifies that impression following the topical references in the title song. Anthony LoGerfo ‘s quick motion around his drum kit provides a foil for the acoustic guitar at the heart of the arrangement, bringing this Nelson & POTR closer to folk-rock than at any other juncture of their career. But the predictable sing-song quality of the tune begins to drag just before it concludes giving way to a more imaginative blend of banjo and violin over a halting beat.
Just over a half-hour playing time on A Few Stars Apart speaks volumes for the efficiency of Nelson and company, not to mention Cobb as their studio supervisor. And the pace of the track sequencing picks up discernibly with “Leave ‘Em Behind” and even more so “Wildest Dreams:” the sensual scenario depicted in the lyrics of the latter, however, doesn’t quite correlate to an abandon in the collective musicianship. As a result, this cut becomes another instance where POTR sounds too careful for its own good; stretching out a bit more (or more often) would markedly reconfigure the end effect of this record (to find out how that works they only need to ask their collaborator of recent years Neil Young).
Such an improvisational interlude would provide a most effective setup for the quasi-country balladry of “Giving You Away.” Lukas Nelson’s voice almost always reminds of his famous father Willie’s, but never more so than on “Hand Me A Light,” a C&W tearjerker not wholly out of place in this band’s discography. But the easy rhymes so obvious in “Smile” end the album as it began, on a relatively placid note that unfortunately doesn’t change much over the course of the eleven cuts. As a result, this album title may refer to the disparity between potential and achievement on the part of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real.
