Album Review: LOCASH’s ‘The Fighters’

LOCASH are the definition of fighters. The country duo, made up of Preston Brust and Chris Lucas, have been clawing their way at country radio for years, first seeing success as songwriters with hits like Keith Urban’s No. 1 “You Gonna Fly” and Tim McGraw’s Top 10 “Truck Yeah.” Now, LOCASH are celebrating their own victory with their newly certified Gold single “I Love This Life” and a full-length album on Reviver Records, fittingly titled The Fighters.

“I feel like this is the first time that a collection of songs is genuinely a good representation of who we are,” Brust tells Sounds Like Nashville. “The artists that we are, the writers that we are, and that feels good.”

As Lucas explains, The Fighters took lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears. The duo co-wrote eight of the 11 songs on the album, which includes plenty of feel good anthems, several songs to dance along to and perhaps even a couple ballads to be played while walking down the aisle.

“We’re very proud of this record,” Lucas adds at a recent album listening event in Nashville. “We’ve been through a lot. We’ve been down more than we’ve been up. We never did give up.”

The Fighters proves LOCASH’s staying power and kicks off with the band’s banjo-driven radio hit “I Love This Life.” An appropriate launch to the standout album, it is just a hint of what’s to come for the band. The Thomas Rhett penned “Ring On Every Finger” follows suit. Co-written by Rhett, Josh Kear and Jesse Frasure, the song is a sweet sentiment with beat heavy rhythms that beg to be danced to.

“I’ll put a ring on every finger just to show the whole world that you’re mine,” LOCASH sing. “Gonna spend this life together dropping F-bombs like forever. With the whole world as a witness gonna flip that Miss to Mrs.”

Current single “I Know Somebody” is another radio hit in the making. Written by A-list songwriters Ross Copperman, Jeremy Stover and Rhett Akins, it is one of the standout tracks on the album that instantly impresses with its handclapped beats and sing along chorus.

While the danceable tracks are plenty on The Fighters, so are the ballads. Tracks like fan favorite “Shipwrecked” has the duo singing of their wives. The song includes soaring piano accompaniment and driving percussion alongside an endearing storyline. A song that Brust’s wife walked down the aisle to, the piano ballad has Brust singing of how the only thing he needs when shipwrecked on an island is his wife.

A unique take on a love song, “God Loves Me More” was written by both Brust and Lucas along with Matt Alderman and Phil Barton and is another memorable piano ballad that has a man describing how he’s the “dark side of the moon” while his girl is “the sweet sunshine.” On the track, he explains that God loves him more because he gave him an angel. “I drink too much, I fight and I cuss that’s how I know it must be true. God loves me more than he loves you,” they sing. “Till the Wheels Fall Off” follows and is another wedding song in the making that has the duo singing of a love that survives the test of time: “I’m gonna love you till the wheels fall off.”

Fans who know the duo will be pleased by party anthems like “Drunk Drunk” and “Alll Day” (yes, with three L’s) that include driving beats and impressive electric guitar interludes. However, it is album closer “The Fighters” that leaves the greatest impact. A song of encouragement for those who have ever struggled and fought their own battle, “The Fighters” is a track that needs to be heard.

Fighters themselves, LOCASH’s latest release combines Brust and Lucas’ talents as songwriters and ability for creating music that sticks with the listener long after the album is played. The duo, who are known for dancing in their own concerts, provide a release that segues effortlessly from the fun tracks to songs with more depth. After a long battle to get their songs heard, LOCASH more than succeed on The Fighters.