[rating=9.00]
Four prolific records in and countless show-stopping live performances later, it is sometimes easy to overlook the fact that Lydia Loveless is only in her twenties. Her songs are all at once wise beyond her years, and a reminder that she is a work in progress – a young person still learning about herself. And the ability to capture all of the emotions that come with that often messy, unflattering experience – angst, loneliness, cluelessness – is what makes Loveless one of the most compelling artists across all genres today.
Her fourth record, Real, may be her rawest yet, though it still packs the punch we’ve come to appreciate and expect from a Loveless record. It runs the gamut of “all the feels” from hormonal rage, lust and heart-wrenching depression, and whether Loveless is writing from her own personal experiences or slipping into character, we are right there with her the whole way, feeling it, too.
With 2014’s Somewhere Else, Loveless delved a little deeper into her pop sensibilities. The melodies were sweetened and catchy, like shimmery pop rock at its best. And with Real, she pushes it even further, tapping into a retro pop sound that spans several decades. First single “Longer” has that driving doo-wop drum beat, and “Heaven” has a smooth, synthy seventies groove that is pure dance floor bait. “Midwestern Guys” is a grungy garage rock tune that honors those subtle nuances and charms of guys from a certain region.
It is the twisted stuff that seems to intrigue Loveless the most. “European” tells a creepy story of a voyeuristic peeping tom set to a sugary tune with an earworm of a chorus. “When I kissed you on the lips/I was bein’ European,” she sings. And title track “Real”, a standout, grapples with the things we give up in ourselves for others. It is hard to imagine someone like the tough-as-nails Loveless sacrificing any aspect of her self, but that is what makes Real such a vulnerable, intoxicating piece of work. It’s about being human and flawed.
For the most moving, personal example of this, give “Clumps” a listen. An acoustic ballad that might rip you to shreds, it’s spare and honest and relatable. It’s a simple song about being a complicated mess, something Loveless fearlessly exposes about herself time and again (especially, too, in the brooding “More Than Ever” and “Out on Love”). And really, that’s all we can ask for in a world of overly glossed pop stars and manufactured, plastic music. We need warriors like Lydia Loveless to bring us back to reality.
