Radiating an easygoing style while capturing some of the most relatable experiences of the human condition, Lukas Nelson bares it all on Sticks And Stones
After suggesting listeners turn off the news and build a garden on his hit 2019 album, Lukas Nelson doubles down on his intention to bring people together through his music on the introspective Sticks and Stones.
Out July 14, the album’s dozen tracks are his most country-leaning yet, covering everything from alcohol as a higher power (“Alcohallelujah”) to dreams of getting lucky (“More Than Friends”) to hope for the homeless (“Overpass”). Most important, they continue to radiate the easygoing, upbeat style that Nelson and his backing band, POTR (Promise of the Real), have become known for over the past decade.
“It has some poignant and quiet moments on it, but mostly I wanted it to be a fun and rock 'n' country record that people could put on in the car to help the road go by,” Nelson tells C&I. “It’s bouncy enough to get you through things, which is kind of the idea in life.”
That bounciness begins with lead track “Sticks and Stones,” on which Nelson proclaims that his feelings won’t be hurt from any name calling (as long as you don’t call him late for dinner) because everyone has more in common than they do different (“dust to dust, we’re all just pushing dirt”). In essence it's an anthem about being yourself and doing what you love, no matter what anybody else thinks.
While that song is rooted in embracing your strengths, others, like “Alcohallelujah” and “Every Time I Drink,” see the artist looking back on his younger partying days and alcohol’s tendency to embolden insecurities. On the latter, a 2012 write for his father’s Heroes changed from a third-person to first-person perspective, Nelson sings of the bottle’s way of holding people under its spell, tarnishing relationships in the process.
Meanwhile, on “Alcohallelujah” Nelson describes the dichotomy between the Holy Spirit and the bottled spirit as he looks back on the highs and lows of his liquored up moments. According to him, the ambiguous term can take on many appearances depending on who’s listening and where they stand on their road to recovery.
“‘Alcohallelujah’ can mean many things depending on which side of the bottle you’re on,” Nelson says. “Are you at the top or bottom, or are you on the floor or a barstool? It’s a multifaceted term, and one that most of us can relate to in one way or another.”
Now age 34 and past his partying phase, Nelson is beginning to settle down, something he documents on songs like “Icarus,” “Ladder Of Love,” “If I Didn’t Love You,” and “More Than Friends.” “Icarus” may be the most direct of the four, tying conversations with his mother about finding a partner and starting a family with the story of Icarus from Greek mythology.
In it he escapes the labyrinth of Crete with his father, Daedalus, by using wings held together with beeswax. Despite being told to not fly close to the sun lest its heat melt his wings, he disobeyed, ending and he fell from the sky to his death. Combined together the song pokes fun at persistent parents yearning for grandkids and prepares folks for a life where they’re no longer responsible for just their own well-being.
On “More Than Friends” he teams up with ACM Award-winning artist and Yellowstone star Lainey Wilson to duet about two friends who are having thoughts about being more than that, even if it's just for one night. Originally the song was to feature only Nelson until David Macias, co-founder of the Thirty Tigers record label, suggested he add a second voice.
After getting on board with the idea, Nelson reached out to Wilson last November, reaching her as she was sitting in her green room at the CMA Awards, where she’d go on to win two awards night. Even though they hadn’t met until recording together, the pair’s voices mesh effortlessly in a way that’s reminiscent of other classic country pairings like Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers on “Islands in the Stream” and Elton John and Kiki Dee on “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” At upcoming live shows, Nelson hopes to replicate the dynamic tension of the duet by having friends in the audience sit in on the song.
“That song was written with the audience members getting lucky in mind, because people often like the band more if they get lucky at the show,” Nelson jokes. “‘Let’s pretend we’re more than friends’ — so maybe they’ll look at each other and say ‘Why not?’ and it becomes a memory they share together as well as the band.”
“Overpass” sees Nelson empathizing with the plight of the homeless and sharing the advice he learned from some unhoused people he hung around during his time attending Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles in the late 2000s. Among them was a wise soul who went by the name Captain Ahab (of Moby Dick fame), whom Nelson mentions at the start of the second verse. The story of having it all and losing it acts as a modern-day retelling of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.”
“[Capt. Ahab] was an interesting character who even thought that I was a traveler too,” Nelson says. “He’d give me advice like, Always keep a lighter in your pocket so you can build a fire whenever you need to. This song centers around that knowledge and the hope that better days are ahead.”
Whether he’s singing about himself, friends in the audience or unhoused citizens, Nelson puts empathy at the forefront of each of Sticks and Stones’ dozen tracks. He uses a mix of wisdom and wry humor to place listeners in the shoes of strangers and their former selves. In many ways these stories are Nelson’s own experiences retold. But they’re also things we’ve all experienced to a degree, reinforcing his point from “Sticks and Stones” that “dust to dust, we’re all just pushing dirt”.
“Music has taught me through travel that we have a lot more in common than we think, which is something we all need to think about more often,” Nelson says. “It’s also taught me how to be more present, giving me both meaning and purpose. I hope this album is able to do the same for anyone who listens to it.”
To check out the music of Lukas Nelson, head to his Spotify or Apple Music.