To be honest, knowing what Lydia Loveless has endured over the past half decade or so – from bringing to light the harassment they faced from the partner of one of Bloodshot Records’ co-founders in 2019, to two albums that didn’t necessarily surround around their divorce but were certainly informed by it – seeing them return after so long with an album titled Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again really feels like a deserved cathartic release.
And, speaking as a fan who’s championed their work since 2011’s Indestructible Machine and would easily place their discography as one of the best and most consistent in modern music today, that feels like a twofold statement. Coming off of 2020’s Daughter, where the tempos were considerably slower and the mood was just as bleak in deconstructing where things went wrong for Loveless, it’s nice to hear them in better spirits all around on their newest album. Given how it’s even being released on a revived (and, more importantly, reformed) Bloodshot Records, it feels like a rebirth moment. The instrumentation is brighter, the hooks are sticky and among their best to date, and there’s the same mischievous rollick present in a lot of the tempos and progressions that’s always been a highlight of their work, especially on cuts like “Poor Boy” and “Toothache.”
Granted, it’s not quite the incendiary firestorm of their first three albums – although the break-up-centered “French Restaurant” might stand as one of their best and nastiest cuts to date - but that also feels intentional in its overall scope. It’s why despite Daughter feeling more like a transitional album in hindsight – an album I still really personally like, for the record – a lot of traits from that album have carried over here, particularly in the spacious, starry production that augments a lot of the mix through the jangly keys and synths. But it’s also a note on lyrics and themes, given how that was an overall mellow, downbeat album, and how Loveless is only growing older and getting tired of these continuous stumbles in life and love.
It helps frame a lot of the album’s self-awareness in how Loveless wishes they didn’t have to keep tirelessly spinning their wheels, and even tries to confront old bad habits over their fears and personal heartbreaks, like not getting involved in what is very much not a surefire thing on “Do the Right Thing.” But it’s also a change that will only continue to happen slowly over time, and it’s not like that drive doesn’t still make them want to act out at points, like on the fun “Poor Boy” with that really great melodic hook. And they’ll just as easily dare you to judge them on “Sex and Money.”
Even still, it’s heartbreaking cuts like “Runaway,” “Feel,” and especially the muted piano ballad closer of “Summerlong,” where that desire to change feels more urgent, desperate, and all around sadder, that really shows them at their best. I mean, I get why folks might miss the scrappy, punk-infused barn-burners of their earlier work, but in terms of their pop pivots, “Runaway” is absolutely one of Loveless’ most gorgeous-sounding cuts in all of its watery, windswept wonder. Even then, it’s as much of an album about change as it is of acceptance, which is why I love the wry, self-aware humor that gets to inform more hook-driven cuts like “Poor Boy,” “Toothache,” “Ghost,” and especially “French Restaurant.”
Outside of the muddier vocal mixing for the hook on “Sex and Money” that didn’t really click with me, along with the old-school pop flourishes and chintzy-sounding backing vocals that kind of ruin an already abrupt “Do the Right Thing,” it’s an album where the flaws are minor. It’s just great to hear Loveless in high spirits again. They deserve it.
(9/10)
- Favorite tracks: “French Resturant,” “Runaway,” “Poor Boy,” “Toothache,” “Ghost,” “Feel,” “Summerlong”
- Least favorite track: “Do the Right Thing”
The Musical Divide 