LYDIA LOVELESS

In 2016, alternative country singer Lydia Loveless was sailing to new heights. She released her third studio album, Real, to widespread critical acclaim. She made television appearances and gained hype even outside of alt-country circles. But, the past four years have brought a lot of change for Loveless, from leaving her record label to leaving her hometown. In possibly the biggest change of all, Loveless went through a divorce which also affected her lineup, as her now-exhusband played bass in her band.

This whirlwind contributed to the longest gap between albums in Loveless’ career.

“I was transitioning out of my marriage and living on my own for the first time, which was weird,” she says. “So, I probably got way too depressed around then. And then, I moved to North Carolina from Ohio, so that put me even further away from being ready to start recording something.”

Loveless says she also felt winded from the previous three album cycles.

“I think I just had mega burnout,” she explains. “Which was hard for me to realize, because I didn’t feel like I worked particularly hard as a musician. And then, I realized I probably was super exhausted and burnt out from touring and emotional distress and fallout there. I think I just needed some time.”

Four years after Real, Loveless is finally gearing up to put her fourth studio LP out into the world. Daughter comes out now on Loveless’ own label, Honey, You’re Gonna Be Late Records. It’s a perfect album for the isolated time we’re living in, as it was written in a lonely manner, giving a bedroom-pop glaze to Loveless’s twangy, country songs.

“I had a lot more time to myself,” Loveless says. “I didn’t have my band to pop down the street and work on stuff with. So, it was a mixture of new groups of people and being isolated, and also having to put songs together myself.”

In contrast to Loveless' previous records, which blend traditional, country music with a punk-rock tinge, Daughter is a much more intimate release both musically and lyrically. Loveless has always had a knack for making listeners feel like she’s right there, spilling her heart out to

“I think I’m always known as a love-song, relationship-song person,” she says. “There’s actually so much of my family on this record, which, it’s not easy for me to write about my family or talk about them, because I don’t feel like it’s my place to parade my family members around. But, there’s so much of that on this, and the mental health issues in my family, including my own. It was interesting to tap into that without being as blatant as I would normally be when I was writing about the relationships that I’ve had.”

“I think it was a lot more subdued and a lot more personal, which, I think made me improve in a lot of ways as a songwriter and lyrically,” Loveless says.

Thematically, the album centers around the title track, “Daughter,” which calls into question men who become interested in feminism only after they become fathers, uninterested in equality until they feel they have some stake in it.

“It’s hard to explain the whole process of people being able to appreciate equality without having ownership,” Loveless explains. “So, that was mainly what was on my mind. Because obviously, with the current administration, it’s just become a more popular topic to be the woke, feminist guy. And sometimes, it was irritating to see people still not get it [laughs]. Like, ‘I worry about my daughter in this world.’ Like, what about worrying for everyone? I’m just hoping that people can learn how to appreciate things that have nothing to do with them and still respect it.”

Loveless left Bloodshot Records after her contract expired in 2016. Now, she has a new sense of freedom, releasing Daughter through a record label she created rather than signing with someone else. She did this partially out of necessity. There’s added pressure that comes with releasing an album on her own label, but Loveless leans into pressure. Perhaps that’s what makes her an indestructible machine.

“I think there’s more excitement as well,” she says. “If it fails, it’s all on me. So, all I can do is be super proud of it and put my all into it, instead of it being like, if someone thinks it’s kinda lame, they can just stop promoting it or not talk about it that much. It’s mine to fuck up or succeed at, which is great.” �� �� ��

If you want alittle evolved to touring, recording, and happily sharing nomadic space.” made us realize we would like to tell a piece of the tale melodically. So, we more country-tinged The songs the two artists made togethgave it our best shot." heartbreak check out er combine Ruggiero’s reggae with Napier’s twangy voice, and these sounds While Napier and Ruggiero come from different musical traditions, country LAUREN NAPIER blend like sweet tea and a hot summer day. Alt-country fans will love “Something About Cowboys,” an old-school country song that introduces people to and reggae are more similar than many people realize. “The reggae is admittedly out of my INTERVIEW BY JOHN SILVA a side of cowboy history that is often overlooked in popular western films. “Whilst I was living in Berlin, [Vic Ruggiero] had an artist residency around the "At the end of our U.S. tour in January corner from my office,” explains Amer- of this year, we had set aside a few icana artist Lauren Napier, about the moments to attend the National Coworigins of her recent collaboration with boy Poetry Gathering in Elko,” Napier ska and reggae legend Vic Ruggiero. “I explains. “Someone had hopped us to noticed a sign in the window that said the festival at a show in Tonopah the

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