Sounds Like:  A firecracker from a true songwriter.

I’ve written quite a bit in various places about how the songs of Lydia Loveless speak to something deep in my soul - Maybe more than any other songwriter. It seems, with the release of “Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again”  (which I will refer to “Nothings Gonna…” from here on out) that others are starting to notice what a powerhouse of songwriter she is.  That’s because despite a rock solid discography, her latest takes her to new level.

As with all of Lydia’s Music, the songs are deeply personal. What different here is the amount of fun she’s having with these songs. Her early albums had a dark humor that was a big part of her charm. But as she’s matured, and confronted some real upheaval, that humor slowly evaporated, which is understandable. ”Nothing’s Gonna…” brings some of that playfulness back, but with a more deft hand. I mean, just look at the album’s title - it comes from the delicious chorus in the song “Ghost”  - “Now that I’m dead, Nothings Gonna Stand In My Way Again.” Its great line in a great song. What’s even more of a knockout is how often she marries the wink at the camera with some real honest confessions.  “Sex and Money” is another great example of this, and one of the best songs in her catalogue.

I hesitated writing that last sentence, because i could honestly ascribe that claim to most of this album.  “Poor Boy,”  “Toothache,” “Runaway,” “Ghost,”  - all of these are towering tracks that will be in her repertoire for years, because they are too good to deny. It’s clear that Lydia Loveless has gone through some turmoil to get to this point, but I hope she feels as triumphant as she sounds on “Nothings Gonna Stand In My Way Again” because this album is a winner from top to bottom.

Favorite Track:  I thought I was going to write “Toothache” but then i heard “Poor Boy” Again, and was about to write that. But then “Runaway” made me stop typing for about a minute, so that wins, but it’s a photo finish.