Lukas Nelson goes it alone on American Romance, his first studio album without his longtime backing band Promise of the Real. Produced by Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, American Aquarium), the LP finds Nelson in a narrative headspace, as the singer-songwriter and son of Willie celebrates life on the road and the very American iconography, like roadside diners and endless stretches of highway, that comes with it. American Romance opens with “Ain’t Done,” a clear-eyed and thoughtful reminder to keep on keepin’ on. Nelson keeps the pace slow and stretches his legs on that one, setting up the introspective vibe that characterizes much of the record. “Outsmarted” is playful if melancholy, with Nelson name-dropping Mad Men’s Don Draper as he sings of self-sabotage and failed romance. Stephen Wilson Jr. joins Nelson on “Disappearing Light,” a mournful ballad that creates tension between the interplay of Nelson’s raspy warble and the lower end of Wilson’s agile voice. The LP’s other collaboration is “Friend in the End,” a sweet and spare folk song that features multi-hyphenate Sierra Ferrell. American Romance’s penultimate tune is its title track, which boasts some of Nelson’s most poetic, impressionistic lyrics yet. Players on the album include Anderson East, SistaStrings, Matt Chamberlain, and Eleanor Whitmore.