How you respond to Lucero, a band whose latest, “Rebels, Rogues & Sworn Brothers,” comes off as the work of a Springsteen covers band, hinges almost entirely on whether you are moved by tough guys huskily belting it out to show how tender they really are, that well-worn gruff-but-sweet sound seeming to be the only vocal stance in frontman Ben Nichols’ repertoire. The songwriting itself is as unimpeachably decent as it is undeniably derivative.
— T.B.
