Live Shows: Lydia Loveless, Reese McHenry, and Megan Tracy & The Missed Connections, The Middle East, Cambridge, MA 11/28/23

Photo by Jillian Clark

I'm a bit of a Lydia Loveless superfan, so I'm always thrilled when she plays up in Boston. I was lucky enough to see her two nights in a row way back in 2015, but then her dates just didn't work for me, and... you know... the pandemic. I saw her opening for Drive-By Truckers last year solo, and back in May I saw her play down in Providence with her band on a day off from a DBT tour. Once I saw she was playing The Middle East, I knew I had to go. Seeing that Reese McHenry was opening, who we haven't heard from since 2019 and I've never seen live just sweetened the deal.

Lydia Loveless has been avoiding the "alt-country" label for almost ten years. The last time she could have been considered alt-country was 2014's Somewhere Else. Since then she's been dabbling more in the worlds of pop and indie rock, and if anyone was looking forward to an evening of alt-country songs, Loveless and her band dispelled that with the opening song. "Out on Love" opened the show with a Sonic Youth level of noise. And I don't mean a standard Sonic Youth show, I mean those weird one off ones in Northampton back when Kim and Thurston lived there that were more jam session than concert performance. At one point guitarist Todd May was grinding the head of his guitar into the wall of the stage. This just helped set the tone of the show.

The mixture of indie rock and pop dominated the set, with Loveless playing a majority of her excellent new album, Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again. (Although "Sex and Money," arguably the most popular song on the album, wasn't played.) In fact, they were looking forward so much a song newer than her two month old album was played. This was only the third show with her new band, but it was barely noticeable. They played that perfect level of loose that kept the show fresh and fun. A song like "Feel" really allowed Loveless to display their vocal chops, which I hadn't truly noticed in previous performances. This new album is an example of an artist truly leveling up, and Tuesday night at The Middle East showed a leveling up as a live artist, as well. Loveless did throw the audience a couple of bones at the end of the main set and encore with "Wine Lips" and "Head" respectively, but with new songs as great as she has, those won't be needed much longer.

Reese McHenry played a short, solo acoustic set made up of mostly new songs. She did play "Fever," which is rare for her especially solo, per audience request. Her set was mostly informal with her charm making even her banter as great as her songs. I got the impression the majority of the crowd wasn't familiar with her before she took the stage based on in crowd talking, but by the end of her first song that quickly ended. Let's hope making it up to Boston becomes a regular event for her.

Apologies to Magen Tracy & The Missed Connections. I left the house later than I meant to, and the show started earlier than I thought. I only caught three songs of theirs, which was a massive bummer for me. But their blend of blues rock was superb live, and I'll do my best to make it to another show earlier next time.

First Listen: New Releases for 22 September 2023

Artist: Lydia Loveless
Album: Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again
Quick Thoughts: We love Lydia Loveless here, and their gradual shift toward a more adult-alternative sound from the more twangy early work felt invevitable until this new album landed, which both feels like a great combination of the new and old while also remaining true to their evolution as an artist. There are so many good songs here, with that now-classic and unmistakable voice to go with some great songwriting. One of the best of the week.
Songs of Note: "Poor Boy," "Feel," "Toothache," "Do the Right Thing"

Artist: Jenny Owen Youngs
Album: Avalanche
Quick Thoughts: On one hand, it's been a decade since the last proper Jenny Owen Youngs album, although that is misleading given the amount of music she's made for her Buffy the Vampire Slayer podcast, plus the whole getting married and moving to Maine thing. So here's Avalanche, which is both exactly what you expect and a pretty solid curveball all at once. It's much quieter and folky than her prior efforts, and it absolutely works, but it doesn't have a "Pirates"-style rocker on it. Still, all things being equal, I really liked this album and I'm glad she's back, even for a little while.
Songs of Note: "Avalanche," "Knife Went In," "Bury Me Slowly," "It's Later Than You Think," "Everglades"

Artist: Will Butler + Sister Squares
Album: Will Butler + Sister Squares
Quick Thoughts: Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire, has done his share of solo work up to now, but this effort feels more Arcade Fire-y than anything Arcade Fire has done as of late. It's unfair to compare the two, especially given that he's not in the band anymore, but songs like "Willows" feel almost inescapable in their adjacency. Giving the backing band a little more presence is a nice touch, and additionally makes sense given the way this effort builds on Butler's previous solo efforts. Definitely give this a listen.
Songs of Note: "Open," "Willows," "Long Grass," "Arrow of Time"

Artist: Emily Kinney
Album: Swimteam
Quick Thoughts: Emily Kinney is famous for Masters of Sex and Mad Men, but her musical efforts are always in my forefront when I see her name. She does a lovely, light type of folk music that feels very on-brand while also feeling immediate and modern. Her voice is soft but resonant, and the songs are direct while still having a ton of weight. If you can't get behind a song like "B or C for Effort," I don't know what to tell you. It's just a great listen.
Songs of Note: "B or C for Effort," "It Won't Last Through the Weekend," "Everything on TV"

Artist: Bleach Lab
Album: Lost in a Rush of Emptiness
Quick Thoughts: Did you love Mazzy Star as much as I did? I'm not saying that Bleach Lab features the next incarnation of Hope Sandoval, but there is a sort of early-1990s ethereal nature to this record that stuck with me long after I moved onto something else. This album impressed from the start, but has a lot of potential to be a long-term grower, so give it a spin.
Songs of Note: "Indigo," "Everything at Once," "Nothing Left to Lose," "Smile for Me," "Never Coming Back"

Artist: Sincere Engineer
Album: Cheap Grills
Quick Thoughts: Sincere Engineer plays in that sort of indie punk sandbox where things feel sharp while also having a bit of a laugh along the way. This album has a lot of fun songs, but it was one of those albums that I knew I'd love within a few minutes of the first song and quickly sent it around to a few other people. Check this one out.
Songs of Note: "Anemia," "California King," "Fireplace," "Inside My Head," "Library of Broken Bindings"

Artist: Mad Honey
Album: Satellite Aphrodite
Quick Thoughts: Mad Honey does shoegaze right. It's fuzzy and dreamy and near-perfect in its presentation, and songs like "Fold" are among my favorite individual tracks of the week. Don't miss this one.
Songs of Note: "Heavier Still," "Fold"

Of note:

* Slayyyer - STARFUCKER (The most mainstream-pop effort from the hyperpop queen yet.)
* Flat Worms - Witness Marks (Loud and brash in all the right ways.)
* Kim Petras - Problematique (Kim Petras making a play as one of the best rising pop singers at present.)
* The National - Laugh Track (As someone who doesn't always connect with The National, this is very good.)
* Another Michael - Wishes to Fulfill
* yeule - softscars
* underscores - Wallsocket
* Hannah Cameron - Holding Pattern
* L'Orange - Old Soul
* zzzahara - Tender
* Teenage Fanclub - Nothing Lasts Forever
* Das Koolies - DK.01
* Patio - Collection
* Hello Seahorse! - HIPER
* Eartheater - Powders
* Slaughter Beach, Dog - Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling
* Lady Donli - Pan African Rockstar
* Loraine James - Gentle Confrontation
* CHAI - CHAI
* Grrrl Gang - Spunky!
* Elk City - Undertow
* Tianna Esperanza - Terror
* Chappell Roan - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
* WaqWaq Kingdom - Hot Pot Totto
* Laurel Halo - Atlas
* Apostille - Prisoners of Love and Hate
* Katsy Pline - Incandescent Fire
* Devendra Banhart - Flying Wig
* Grails - Anches En Maat
* DJ Premier - Beats That Collected Dust, Vol. 3
* Comet - Two-Winged
* Samantha Urbani - Showing Up
* Colleen - Le jour et la nuit du reel
* Dan Drohan - DIGI BRO
* Roosevelt - Embrace
* Technology + Teamwork - We Used to Be Friends
* Paper Tigers - Charmer

EPs:

* Soccer Mommy - Karoake Night (A perfect little covers EP.)
* Steven Wilson - What Life Brings
* Coco Bryce - My Space
* Babe Rainbow - Mushroom
* Adryelle - A Storm of Colors
* Bjarki - Tears in Berghain EP
* Ezra Furman - Sex Education: Songs from Season 4
* Arny Margret - dinner alone
* NZCA LINES - Universal Heartbreak
* Single Bullet Theory - C. '79
* corook - serious person (part 2)
* Eloise - Day From Night
* Lebra Jolie - The Pressure Pack

Live albums/Compilations/Reissues:

* fabric presents Helena Hauff

Also out:

* Bang Camaro - Bang Camaro III
* KEN Mode - VOID

Lydia Loveless - "Sex and Money"

Photo by Jillian Clark

There's a ton of buzz about the upcoming album from Lydia Loveless, and I may be a gushing fanboy at times, but her latest single may be her best in her career. "Sex and Money" is this perfect mix of all the phases of Loveless' career. It has the twang of her earlier alt-country classics, the noise and punk that has always been front and center during live shows, and the more pop side that has been on more recent albums. "Sex and Money" could be a trainwreck of a song, but Loveless has melded these genres into this perfectly structured song. Sometimes you just hear a song and know it's something truly special, and that's what this one is. It's the kind of song that you instantly fall in love with and want to share with as many people as possible.

Lydia Loveless says of their new single:

"This one was written at an Airbnb in Austin on some late tour night where there’s a bottle and a guitar and everyone’s giggly. I’ve tried really hard to not write songs about 'the lifestyle of a road dog,' but this one’s a little more self-deprecation than anything. I’m a horrible hopeless romantic and I will literally just sit in the back of the van and daydream that my crush shows up with flowers and sweeps me off my feet at a random show. My poor long-suffering band, hahaha."

You can watch the video for "Sex and Money" below. Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again is due out September 22 via Bloodshot Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out the artist's website.

Lydia Loveless - "Runaway"

Photo by Jillian Clark

The latest single from Lydia Loveless is completely different from virtually anything we've heard from them in the past, while still being completely in their back catalog. "Runaway" is a heartbreaking ballad that doesn't sound like anything being made in 2023. It's almost an 80's power ballad with some alt-country twang and somehow just the slightest punk edge. Everything Loveless has in her is being poured into this song. It's a gorgeous song that is going to drag some emotions out of you, based just on the feelings in Loveless' vocals. The beauty in "Runaway" is needed considering how painful this song feels.

Lydia Loveless says of their new single:

“This was one of the very first songs I wrote for this record. I hated it, but my friend Amy was giving me assignments and pushing me to write my way through heartache while I was crashing on her couch. She would send me out with a notebook and tell me not to come back until I had something. Eventually this one grew on me and is now actually my favorite to sing on the whole record. It’s deeply personal and gut-wrenching to perform. It’s about not wanting my relationship to end but knowing things weren’t ever going to improve. I’m especially proud of the instrumentation, particularly the guitar part at the end that had everyone calling me Mark Knopfler when I came out of the booth.”

You can listen to "Runaway" below. Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again is due out September 22 on Bloodshot Records. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out the artist's website.

Lydia Loveless - "Toothache"

Photo by Jillian Clark

I first discovered Lydia Loveless with 2014's Somewhere Else. Since then I've been somewhat of a superfan, even as she's strayed away from her alt-country roots into a style more akin to pop music. Some songs have worked for me, and others haven't, but even the ones that haven't have been at least interesting. Now, they're back with a new album due in September, a new single, and an evolved sound. "Toothache" dips a little bit more into alt-country, but just slightly. It's still more of a pop song, but pop in the way that an artist like Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are pop. Loveless has made a song that references her alt-country roots, her love of pop, and some of the finest late 70's/early 80's pop leaning classic rock around. It's a change in styles that makes perfect sense, and has us desperate to hear more of her new music. It's not a return to her past as much as it is the next step in her musical evolution.

According to Loveless, her new album was "... inspired by a literal toothache and knowing there were way too many other things on my plate at the time to be concerned with my fucking tooth. The millions of little things that pile up when you’re broke and overwhelmed until you snap over the dumbest thing, like running out of dish soap...I struggled with whether or not I could write an anthem with the chorus just being ‘Now I’ve got a toothache!’"

You can watch the video for "Toothache" below. Nothing's Gonna Stand In My Way Again is due out September 22 on Bloodshot Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out the artist's website.

Lydia Loveless & Jason Hawk Harris Cover Rilo Kiley

Bloodshot Records seemed to have imploded back in 2019, and all was quiet at the label until last year when they seemed to be up to something. Earlier this year, they announced they had resigned some previous artists including Lydia Loveless and Jason Hawk Harris. That was fantastic news by itself, but now the pair have released a cover of Rilo Kiley's fantastic "Portions for Foxes." Harris' Love & the Dark was a favorite album of 2019, and Loveless is one of my favorite current artists. Considering "Portions for Foxes" is one of my favorite songs of this century, and I'm starting to wonder if this was made for me personally. Loveless and Harris just nail this cover. It's a spot on version of a brilliant song. Maybe it's a bit more rock than Rilo Kiley's cover, but not by much. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go daydream about Lydia Loveless and Jason Hawk Harris releasing an album filled with nothing but my favorite songs.

You can watch the video for Lydia Loveless and Jason Hawk Harris' version of "Portions for Foxes" below. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out her website. Jason Hawk Harris' can be found here.

Live Shows: Lydia Loveless and The Quahogs, Askew, Providence, RI 5/7/23

Considering Lydia Loveless and Drive-By Truckers are two of my favorite artists, I was truly bummed out that their tour wasn't hitting the Boston area, even though they had played in Boston just last spring. Luckily, Lydia Loveless announced a show on an off night for the Drive-By Truckers. There was no way I could miss that, especially since it had been eight years since I saw her with a full band.

Lydia Loveless has been moving away from the alt-country sound that she started out with ever since 2016's Real and 2020's Daughter. On Sunday night at Askew her sound has evolved even more. Her band has always had a more punk/indie rock sound to their live show, but with the addition of a new bass player and a new second guitar player (apologies, I didn't catch their names!), the band's sound has taken on a more shoegaze sound. This might be since the new guitar player plays with one of the largest pedal boards I've ever seen, but the newer songs packed more of a punch in this current incarnation. Most songs also came from the newer albums, with only "Head" and "Verlaine Shot Rimbaud" from 2014's Somewhere Else. An audience member requested "Wine Lips," to which Loveless stated that she wasn't sure how to play that right now, just to show how much she's moved on to her more current music.

As she usually does, Loveless played three songs solo in the middle of her set. One of these was a cover of Justin Bieber's "Sorry," if Google is correct when I looked up the lyrics. It was a much more downtrodden, nearly gothic take on what I assume the original sounds like. That might be the best explanation of Loveless' current sound: Pop music played with as much sadness as possible, but in a punk/shoegaze way. As much as I loved the band's early alt-country, I am quite intrigued by what they are coming out with next.

Providence's own The Quahogs opened the night. I hate making this comparison because it sounds dismissive, but they're an alt-country band from Providence with a lead singer that sounds more than a little like John McCauley, so the Deer Tick comparisons can't be avoided. But they had their own thing going in that genre, and were probably responsible for about half of the audience Sunday night. Plus, there was a cover of Gram Parson's "A Song for You" which had more than enough heartache injected into it. 

Live Shows: Drive-By Truckers and Lydia Loveless, Royale, Boston, MA 4/28/22

Photo by Ken Sears

Despite Drive-By Truckers being my favorite active band, I almost skipped this show. I already had a lot going on in April, including a ticket to see Guerilla Toss the night before. I had just seen Drive-By Truckers back in August at Green River Festival. I'm not a huge fan of Royale, as it's more of a dance club that sometimes has bands instead of live music venue. I obviously wanted to go, but I was on the fence. Finally I decided I'd go if they added an artist that I really, really wanted to see to the show, and I gave myself the example of Lydia Loveless. Well... they added Lydia Loveless, so I went.

And I'm glad I did, or I would have missed one of the best nights of music of my life. Except for singing a couple of songs after a screening of Who is Lydia Loveless? (Coincidentally five years ago almost to the day of this show), I hadn't seen Lydia Loveless live since a glorious weekend of two shows in a row in 2015. A lot has changed for Loveless since then, and it was a solo performance opening up for the Drive-By Truckers. Of course, this is still Lydia Loveless, so it was hardly a quiet, acoustic affair. Loveless went between an electric guitar and keyboard, relying on a reverb drenched guitar and playing like a solo Bob Mould, Loveless focused quite strongly on her more recent releases for her set. Highlights were "Daughter" on piano and "Verlaine Shot Rimbaud" on guitar. For "Daughter," she said she had to name the album that since everyone thought she was singing "dollar," which changes the meaning of the song entirely. My personal favorite was a piano ballad version of "Head." It was interesting hearing one of the more rocking songs from Somewhere Else completely reworked. Let's hope I don't go another seven years without seeing Loveless.

A Drive-By Truckers show has three phases. The first is the warm up, where it's good, but not great. It almost feels like a sound check, or a practice session. Of course, if you had never seen them before, you'd think you were seeing the best show ever. If you had seen them before, you might think the show wasn't as good as the one before. And if you've seen them a bunch of times, you'd know to just wait. The show started off with "The Living Bubba" and "3 Dimes Down" before the band played a handful of songs off their upcoming album, Welcome to Club XIII. I had never seen Drive-By Truckers just before an album release, so hearing unknown songs was interesting. But, they were just getting their bearings for this part of the show.

The second part of a Drive-By Truckers show is when they get their footing and become great. On Thursday night, this was marked with a trio of "Women Without Whiskey," "My Sweet Annette," and "Marry Me." Those are three of my personal favorite songs, and they're always sure to engage a crowd. The band just started playing looser and getting more into the show at this point. As with their 2020 Somerville Theater show, Red Sox organist Josh Kantor joined them for a few songs, including a much extended punk rock jam of "Hell No, I Ain't Happy" which saw Patterson Hood railing about the Russian attack of Ukraine and the return of the Cold War. You'd think the evening couldn't top that, but somehow it did.

The third part of a Drive-By Truckers show is when they just floor it and hope the audience can keep up. This was marked by the trio of "Sinkhole," "Uncle Frank," and "Lookout Mountain." That's just a dream three songs in a row for long term DBT fans, and might have been the greatest three song series of any concert I've ever been to. The band could have ended then and everyone would have been happy and fulfilled, but they still had six songs to go from there. They slowed it down with the Mike Cooley ballad "When the Pin Hits the Shell" followed by the moody "Tornadoes." Of course, they brought out "Let There Be Rock" towards the end, which is pretty much the only song you're guaranteed to hear at a DBT show. To end, each member of the band left the stage one by one (except Patterson and Cooley who left together) and leaving their instrument feeding back. The last one left was drummer Brad Morgan. Finally, he left and the show ended. No encore, but after two hour and fifteen minute rock show, no one could possibly have complained.

Bradley Palermo, Damn the Weather, and Lydia Loveless Cover The Righteous Gemstones

I never got into the HBO series The Righteous Gemstones, so I'm completely unfamiliar with the song "Misbehavin'" from the show. But, when you get Lydia Loveless to perform on a cover of the song, I'm going to pay attention. This cover features Bradley Palermo and Damn the Weather on a duet of the song. It's an upbeat, highly traditional folk and country song that seems to be written from the perspective of children singing about behaving so you don't get taken by Satan. It starts of with "two little country kids" doing all sorts of misbehavin' until they meet Satan and turn their lives around with brushing their teeth and washing their hands. Yeah... it's pretty phenomenal.

You can listen to "Misbehavin'" below. 

Lydia Loveless - Live from the Documentary "Who Is Lydia Loveless?"

I raved about the documentary Who Is Lydia Loveless? way back in 2016. As much as I loved the view into what the life of a club level up and coming band was like, the live performances were the true draw of the film. Spread throughout, they showed a band at the very height of their live performance powers. The audio recordings have been released previously on vinyl, but they are finally available digitally. 

Right from the first track, "Out On Love," you know this one is going to be special. It's a drone heavy song filled with far more indie rock fuzz than Lydia Loveless' trademark alt-country. Plus, she's just belting this one out with an amount of sheer emotion that is going to effect you no matter who you are. "More Like Them" brings the rock back into it, just threatening to careen off the rails and somehow keeping it together, but just barely. The absolute pinnacle of the release is the live version of "Boy Crazy." In the documentary, it is said that the band typically only pulls this one out at shows that go very well or very bad. I'm not certain which this was, but it must have been a doozy.

You can listen to the live version of "Boy Crazy" below. Live from the Documentary "Who Is Lydia Loveless?" is available via Bandcamp. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out the artist's website.

Lydia Loveless - "You're Leaving Me" / "Let's Make Out'

Lydia Loveless has been delving into pop music for the past few years, all but abandoning her alt-country roots. Her newer sound hasn't worked for all her fans on every release, which is fine. Artists should change their sound up as they grow, and sometimes not everyone will be on board. But anyone that has stopped paying attention is going to miss out on her latest single. "You're Leaving Me" and "Let's Make Out" are the best songs Loveless has released with her more pop oriented sound. "You're Leaving Me" is a pop ballad, with Loveless doing her best take on crooner style vocals and just the slightest hints of country hiding in the background. "Let's Make Out" is the most Loveless song title we've had in years. This one is much more of a 90's pop rocker and sounds like Letters to Cleo covering Loveless's "Boy Crazy." This pair of new songs has us rabid to hear what else Loveless has been working on for the past year.

You can listen to "Let's Make Out" below. The songs are available now via Bandcamp on Lydia Loveless' own Honey, You're Gonna Be Late Records. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out the artist's website. Dates for a co-headlining tour with Lily Hiatt are below the song. (Of course, no New England dates are included...)

Lydia Loveless Covers Bob Dylan

Photo by Megan Toenyes

"Oh, Sister" is one of those Bob Dylan songs that should be a lot more well known. Off of 1976's Desire, it's virtually perfect. Yesterday was Bob Dylan's eightieth birthday, and it also saw the release of Happy Birthday Uncle Bob! A Dylan Tribute featuring thirteen covers of Dylan classics. Lydia Loveless took on "Oh, Sister" and completely reimagined it. The lyrics and the male/female vocals remain intact, but while Dylan's original is a smooth folk/soul classic, Loveless gives the song a modern pop sound with a beat that's borders classic drum 'n' bass. It's an interesting take on the song that works much better than I expected.

You can listen to Lydia Loveless' cover of "Oh, Sister" below. Happy Birthday Uncle Bob! A Dylan Tribute is available now on Bandcamp and features covers from HEELS, Jon Snodgrass and His Buddies, Shane Sweeney, and more! For more on Lydia Loveless, be sure to check out her website.

Lydia Loveless - "Merry Christmas"

Earlier this month, Lydia Loveless wrote what appeared to be a joke about writing a Christmas song on Twitter. Based on fans' reactions, she said that she'd actually have to do it. Well, she did! "Merry Christmas" sounds like an outtake from her recent (and my #10 album of 2020) album Daughter. It's a quiet, contemplative, and unbearably sad song that exemplifies her current sound of alt-country meets pure pop. This is definitely not the bubbly, cheery Christmas song for parties (which we shouldn't be doing this year, anyway), but the perfect kind of song for the Christmases we're all preparing for this year.

Lydia Loveless says of the new song: “I wanted to try my hand at a holiday song. Every year I intend to write one and give up. This year, the only thing I feel like I have any control over is my creativity—so it seemed like now or never. One of the things I have missed most is making music with others, so I asked my bandmates George (Hondroulis) and Todd (May) to add to it. It was a little spark of joy in a super bummer season.” 

You can watch the video for "Merry Christmas" below. The song is available now via Bandcamp with all profits benefitting the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out her website.

Ken's Best of 2020 - #10: Lydia Loveless - Daughter

As acclaimed as it was, Lydia Loveless's 2016 album Real just didn't quite work for me. Part of it is that I'm just not really a pop guy, and it was definitely a pop album. I'm sure another part of it was that I loved 2014's Somewhere Else so much, and I was being a grumpy old man about the drastic change in sound. 

That brings us to Daughter. Daughter is definitely a pop album (just check out the "I Would Die 4 U" vibe on "Wringer"), but it works much better for me. The main reason is that it melds Loveless's pop sensibilities with her older country and rock sounds. I've always appreciated hybrid sounds, and the edge and twang helps make the pop a little more palatable for me. The songwriting on Daughter is second to none. The songs on Daughter channel Loveless's emotions about her divorce, and it's heartbreaking on some songs and uplifting on others. But that's divorce. There are many great divorce albums out there (Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear and Bob Dylan's Blood On the Tracks immediately come to mind), but I have never heard an artist capture the rawness of a divorce quite like Lydia Loveless does here.

Songs of note: "Dead Writer," "Love is Not Enough," "Wringer," and "September"

Divided Heaven featuring Lydia Loveless - "They Poisoned Our Fathers"

Photo via Facebook

Note to all musicians: If you're looking to get written about here at If It's Too Loud..., it certainly helps to bring in Lydia Loveless to guest on your song. Divided Heaven, aka Jeff Berman, has released a protest song and brought in Lydia Loveless for additional vocals. The song lands on the more pop side of the current Americana sound, but Berman brings a unique feel to the genre. It could be the venom in his voice, or maybe just his voice itself, but "They Poisoned Our Fathers" sounds like a more rootsy Placebo.

Jeff Berman explains the meaning behind the new song:

"Touring during the trump years has been telling. I’ve had countless conversations with people who share their grief and abhorrence that a fascist president has emboldened the worst traits of many of our fathers, brothers, uncles, neighbors, and coworkers. 'They Poisoned Our Fathers' is meant to serve as a personal statement of resistance: resistance against trump, his poisoned minions and the spineless politicians enabling it all."

You can listen to "They Poisoned Our Fathers" below. The song is currently available as a single via Bandcamp. For more on Divided Heaven, check out the artist's website.

Lydia Loveless featuring Laura Jane Grace - "September"

Photo by Megan Toenyes

The new and highly awaited album from Lydia Loveless is due tomorrow, but we're getting to hear our most highly anticipated song from that album early! When we first heard about the album, we couldn't wait to hear "September" since it featured a guest appearance by Laura Jane Grace. The song is a gorgeous piano ballad, which isn't quite what I expected from the pairing of Loveless and Grace, but I can't argue with the result. A piano ballad always has the possibility of falling into the land of overly sappy, but Loveless and Grace avoid that. Just their vocals inject enough attitude, and lyrics like "Do you really wanna fuck with me" finish the job. Like many Loveless songs, it's beautiful on the surface, but the lyrics tell another story.

You can watch the video for "September" below. Lydia Loveless explains the video: “‘September’ is a song about the loneliness and ache of being a teenager. I wanted to depict that in the video without being too personal, and we thought Bridget and Kyle would be the perfect people to star in it. There’s nothing I love more than not being in my own video, so I loved just watching everyone get into character and tell this sad story in front of me.” 

Daughter, the new album from Lydia Loveless, will be out September 25 on her own Honey, You're Gonna Be Late Records. You can order a copy here. Lydia Loveless has three livestreams scheduled, including a full band virtual release show scheduled for tonight (September 24). You can get tickets here. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out her website.

Lydia Loveless - "Wringer"

Photo by Megan Toenyes

"Wringer," the latest single from Lydia Loveless, is an interesting listen for me. I wasn't a big fan of her 2016 pop turn on Real, and this new song is definitely her leaning into her pop sensibilities. But I genuinely love "Wringer." It has this interesting sound that's reminding me of early Madonna, back when she still had some rawness to her production. It's also one of the peppiest divorce songs I've ever heard. It still keeps the sadness of a huge break up with lyrics like "How did it come to this / Dividing our possessions," but somehow keeps an upbeat feel. "Wringer" is going to up the intrigue for Loveless's upcoming album, no matter what you think of it.

You can watch the video for "Wringer" below. Daughter, the new album from Lydia Loveless, will be out September 25 on her own Honey, You're Gonna Be Late Records. You can pre-order the album here. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out her website.

Lydia Loveless - "Love Is Not Enough"

Photo by Megan Toenyes

As much as I hated having to wait four years for new music from Lydia Loveless, it's understandable. She chose to take a break after touring for Real, split from her husband, moved from Ohio to North Carolina, and... everything else that has happened over the past four years. She's back with a new single, and it was completely worth the wait. "Love Is Not Enough" is fantastic. It shows a melding of the more pop side Loveless explored on Real with her country roots. It's much less rambunctious than other songs we've heard from her in the past, which isn't a bad thing at all. "Love Is Not Enough" shows a songwriter truly coming into her own and growing in confidence. If this doesn't get you excited for her upcoming album, nothing will.

Lydia Loveless says about the new song: 

“The song is a response to the old-fashioned idea that love is all you need as opposed to understanding, or give and take. On a larger scale, it’s about people who say things like ‘love trumps hate’ and take zero action to make it true. It’s not enough to ‘feel’ the emotion of love to make things work whether it’s in your own personal relationships or the way you interact with the world. For the video, my friend and I came up with the idea of two a**hole characters running around terrorizing someone until they snap, and ultimately find out these guys’ heads are just full of rocks and old food. Originally I don’t think I was supposed to be that person, but we have limited actors at our disposal during the pandemic and that actually ended up making it more fun. The papier-mâché elements create a sort of other worldly vibe that I think everyone is feeling right now."

You can watch the Lydia Loveless and Michael Casey directed video for "Love Is Not Enough" below. Daughter, the upcoming album from Lydia Loveless, will be out September 25 on Honey, You're Gonna Be Late Records. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out her website.

Jack the Radio with Lydia Loveless - "Getting Good"

Photo via Facebook

Raleigh, NC's Jack the Radio have a new album coming out next week, and what got our attention is a newly released single featuring Lydia Loveless. Lydia Loveless has been a favorite around here for years, and new music from her has been pretty scarce lately. Obviously we're going to jump all over anything new featuring her. "Getting Good" is a killer roots rock ballad. It's classic alt-country goodness, the kind of song that made us fall in love with Lydia Loveless. "Getting Good" is a near perfect duet between singer George Hage and Lydia Loveless, the kind that rarely get made these days but will make you need to hear more. This is old school country with some indie rock elements, and hits so many of our musical sweet spots.

You can listen to "Getting Good" below. Creatures, the upcoming album from Jack the Radio, will be out July 10. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Jack the Radio, check out their website. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out her website.

Lydia Loveless - "Say My Name"

Photo by Chad Cochran

I can't seem to find any information on this song from Lydia Loveless. The only thing I can find out is that the video is connected to Groove in the Garden, a music festival in Raleigh, NC. Other than that, "Say My Name" could be an unreleased original song from Lydia Loveless, or it could be a cover I'm not recognizing. But, it is a live performance of Lydia Loveless performing solo in a garden, while people walk around in the background unaware of a nationally renowned musician is playing in front of them. Even though we don't know anything about this song, it's new (to us) from Lydia Loveless, so enjoy!

You can watch the video for "Say My Name" below. If you know anything about this, please let us know. For more on Lydia Loveless, check out the band's website.

Groove in the Garden - Lydia Loveless "Say My Name" from Beau Vorous on Vimeo.