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Press:

“If Luego's previously uneven output left any questions regarding frontman Patrick Phelan's hook-crafting abilities, the second full-length from the Durham consortium, Ocho, lays them to rest. Phelan knows pop. Enlisting a rotating ensemble of local all-star sidemen as an always-adept backing band, Phelan adds a roots bent into classic, harmony-rich jangle pop influences, landing in the neighborhood of Wilco's sprawling Americana ambition.”
Spencer Griffith - Indy Week

“Luego blends soulful grit and classic pop smarts on the '60s-inflected numbers that populate the band's two albums. It's peculiarly catchy stuff with a good deal of greased shimmy.”
Chris Parker - Indy Weekly

“Ocho is Cowboy music…[Luego} translate Western loneliness through a pop medium, infusing sunny harmonies and charming melodies with a tangible sense of unrest.”
Linnie Greene - The Daily Tar Heel

“To say we were blown away by Taped-Together Stories would be a drastic understatement. Yet a few months after that album’s release, frontman Patrick Phelan was already working on the album’s follow-up and his band, Luego.”
Jake Seaton - Music.myNC

“.I cannot emphasize enough how the sincerity of Phelan's lyricism makes this album a cut above. If you can appreciate alt-country sounds like Wilco and Blitzen Trapper, you'll also appreciate Taped-Together Stories."”
Tara Lacey - Performer Magazine

“How does Luego's Patrick Phelan attract a band that includes one of the area's best producers (Jeff Crawford), one of its best harmonizers (Josh Moore) and an army of standout instrumentalists? The fact that he has more hooks than a champion fisherman can't hurt. Combined with his ensemble's classically balanced folk-pop and his own prickly Rod Stewart-esque croon, Phelan's tunes become a lovely addiction.”
Jordan Lawrence - Indy Weekly

“Luego began, and the seven-piece band created a full sound topped with a voice unlike any other and lyrics that can rock your soul. It was intimate, it was coherent, it was orchestral.”
Lydia Simmons - Sunset in the Rearview

"The Album is flat-out phenomenal...Taped-together Stories really is among my top-10 local releases of 2009...frontman Patrick Phelan possesses a certain charm and pop sensibility rivaling Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. This especially rings true in the tracks “Held Up,” “Attaboy” and “When I Lie.
Jake Seaton - Music.mync.com

“Phelan's voice, which sits somewhere between Geddy Lee and Neil Young ...[Held Up]'s disco pulse—like Jamiroquai reimagined as an alt-country act, but better than that sounds—doesn't overwhelm Luego's rootsy aesthetic but instead showcases the band's willingness to stretch its sound. ”
Bryan Reed - Indy Week

“a blissful collection of hook-driven singles...a big, bold "retro-tinged pop-rock band (who)... throw(s) genuine emotion on top of a great hook and take(s) it for a ride.”
Jordan Lawrence - The Daily Tar Heel

"Luego doesn’t sound like it’s trying to sound like the ’70s. Instead, this six-song EP, the second the band has digitally released in advance of its forthcoming LP, sounds like it actually came from that time."
Music Shorts - The Daily Tar Heel

“Riding the Beggars-Banquet ambitions of singer Patrick Phelan, Luego delivered a set of good-old boozy country rock that had enough vibrant life and good turns of phrase to still sound fresh.”
Jordan Lawrence - Diversions - Daily Tar Heel

“ The new lineup has coalesced, transforming Luego from a timid, folky indie-pop band into a self-assured, Southern-rooted unit blending classic pop and roots rock”
Spencer Griffith - Indy Weekly

“Luego embodies everything that is great about the local music culture. We have very talented and hard working bands that place as much importance on fans enjoying the night as they do about their music being perfect. ”
Show Review - Secret Carrboro Ninja Patrol

“This new Luego has traded its orchestral dabbling for a rock solid foundation in Neil Young-type roots rock, Comboland pop and even a touch of T. Rex swagger."”
Bryan Reed - Indy Weekly