Lydia Loveless - Indestructible Machine
Record Label: Bloodshot Records
Release Date: Sept. 13, 2011
The fact of the matter is this: aside from Kasey Chambers and Kathleen Edwards, there's a dearth of strong-willed, compelling and first-rate female alt.country singer-songwriters. The fact that Chambers is Australian and Edwards Canadian only reinforces the fact that America, the very country that pioneered alt.country, is lagging far behind the rest of the world in keeping females at the forefront of the genre.
But all that is about to change.
Enter Lydia Loveless, a headstrong 21-year-old from rural Ohio who packs a wallop wherever she goes. Easy on the eyes and effortless behind the microphone, she stands to be the greatest thing for the genre since Uncle Tupelo. Why such hyperbole? Truth is, 20-year-olds just don't have this kind of swagger, confidence and precision. On the rip-roaring album opener "Bad Way To Go," which throws out dual guitars and frenzied banjos, she roars from the very first note. That sense of urgency and kinesis is revisited on the steadfast "Can't Change Me," and on the apologetic "More Like Them."
She tackles old-school country western on the near-flawless "How Many Women," which feels eerily reminiscent of Patsy Cline. Not one to wade in balladry, she kicks up the tempo on the jocular "Jesus Was a Wino," and the tongue-in-cheek "Steve Earle." The disc rounds out with the mid-tempo masterpiece "Learn To Say No," the frenetic "Do Right," and the acoustic yarn "Crazy." It is on that last salvo where Loveless makes her most engaging statement. Clear-throated, crystalline and near revelatory, there is little about the song that misses. When all is said and done it represents as strong a debut album that the genre has seen in quite some time.
Make no mistake, Indestructible Machine is the sound of promise, the sound of hope and ultimately the sound of something truly special unfolding.
Admirable review, but I disagree with the first statement: More people should be listening to Brooke Waggoner. Maybe not alt-country enough for the context, but leaps and bounds ahead of nearly every other female in the industry.
Admirable review, but I disagree with the first statement: More people should be listening to Brooke Waggoner. Maybe not alt-country enough for the context, but leaps and bounds ahead of nearly every other female in the industry.
Love Brooke Waggoner, but I think you're comparing apples and oranges . There are a lot of female alt-country artists (Alison Krauss, Neko Case, etc.) I would argue are just as talented or more talented than Waggoner. But they're all great in their respective genres.
Neko Case is indeed alt. country, but she's not exactly young. Allison Krauss is by no stretch alt. country. She's bluegrass through and through. Brooke Waggoner is a far cry from alt. country.
Neko Case is indeed alt. country, but she's not exactly young. Allison Krauss is by no stretch alt. country. She's bluegrass through and through. Brooke Waggoner is a far cry from alt. country.
Alison Krauss' latest album has some alt country influence
Browse Reviews
Write a Review
Alphabetized Listing
Popular Reviews
Best New Music
View Blog
View Signature
Posts: 9,272
View Profile Picture
. There are a lot of female alt-country artists (Alison Krauss, Neko Case, etc.) I would argue are just as talented or more talented than Waggoner. But they're all great in their respective genres.
Follow This Review
More Reviews By This Author