While Lucero have made a career — and seven albums — out of straddling hot-blooded bar-rock and heartfelt alt-country balladry, the Memphis six-piece’s freshly recorded Texas & Tennessee EP, out digitally on April 30, settles into the gentler end of that spectrum. Frontman Ben Nichols’ husky vocals recount vivid stories of long-distance love, starring couples either separated by distance (see “Union Pacific Line”) or disinterest (“I can see the leaving in your eyes,” Nichols sings on the title track), as patient guitar lines tumble, pianos twinkle, and horns swell and sway along with each narrative. Stream the entire collection here.

:audio=0:112544:playlist:Lucero, Texas & Tennessee: