Although I didn't really cry and I'm sure not gonna sleep with someone, I feel like Rob Gordon (from Nick Hornby's High Fidelity) probably did when he first heard Maria LaSalle. I've long felt familiar with The Lucky Ones' style -- they roll blues, country and trad rock into a smooth, bar-band sound -- although I never thought it could affect me as strongly as their debut has. As with Rob, it's probably a combination of my age, immediate mood and the band's talent; two years ago, I probably would've dismissed this album as too soft and mature ("If you really wanted to mess me up, you should have got to me earlier."), without enough extremist spunk -- but now I really like it.

Rob Brookman and Dave Kay trade guitar, singing and songwriting duties; both have worn-out, slightly Southern voices that suit the music rather well. It's their slightly downer, slower songs that really hit the mark. Brookman and Kay supply an array of bluesy, effective lead guitar lines -- the music is essentially country rock, but it's the blues edge that makes it work so well. "My World" thrives on a chorus that features three or four distinct and memorable guitar lines, which pack a great deal of emotion and variety into the song's four minutes.

The Lucky Ones' lyrics complement this style rather nicely. "The Long Goodbye" is a song about divorce, which, instead of being bitter, sports a nice a tinge of melancholy...a really nice tinge of melancholy. My favorite part is when Brookman sings, "Why do I always shiver / When I hear a train whistle blow" and then plays a short guitar solo -- it sounds rather conventional, but it works so well that you can't help but shiver a bit too. "Lonely Hearts' Waltz" is a slower, starker song that's sad in an intimate rather than overbearing way. In five and a half drawn-out minutes, Brookman paints a picture of the titular dance ("There's widowers and divorcees / Young girls move about like the breeze / Just hold someone tight for the rest of the night / Steal a kiss 'neath the fluorescent lights.") and invites you in ("Step inside and see..."). Pianist Brian Anderson and guest-organist David Singer help to flesh out the music, establishing a level of complexity on a par with the song's emotions. Singer's talent especially shines on the smoky "One Woman's Hand", which features a simple yet emotive organ during the chorus, while Anderson is most noticeable on more upbeat numbers, like "Emily" and "Ordinary Girl". The music is well produced, with enough instrumental traffic to keep your mind occupied -- but they never grow to complex to be played live.

Not every song hits the mark as well as those listed above. Faster numbers like "The Marquee" and "Ordinary Girl" seem to come a dime a dozen, and when the band drops those bluesy lead guitar lines, the music grows far less distinctive.

Unlike many of my treasured older CDs, The Lucky Ones hits subtly, with a great deal of maturity (perhaps even adults can have emotions). Just as Rob Gordon didn't want to move on, I don't want to admit that the album is a great buy...but then again, High Fidelity did have a happy ending, right?