{"id":784,"date":"2016-08-19T05:57:28","date_gmt":"2016-08-19T09:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/?p=784"},"modified":"2016-11-09T00:03:19","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T05:03:19","slug":"new-release-roundup-lydia-loveless-john-paul-white-beaver-nelson-lisa-hannigan-eric-ambel-the-stray-birds-and-henry-phillips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/2016\/08\/19\/new-release-roundup-lydia-loveless-john-paul-white-beaver-nelson-lisa-hannigan-eric-ambel-the-stray-birds-and-henry-phillips\/","title":{"rendered":"New Release Roundup: Lydia Loveless, John Paul White, Beaver Nelson, Lisa Hannigan, Eric Ambel, The Stray Birds, and Henry Phillips"},"content":{"rendered":"

MUSIC <\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n

1. Lydia Loveless<\/a> \u2013 Real<\/em>
\nLydia Loveless used to hurl scorn and reproach with fistfuls of brickbat. Now she does it with a shiny new cruise missile. Gone is the thrash and twang of her 2011 debut, Indestructible Machine<\/em>. Real<\/em> completes a transition that started on 2014\u2019s Somewhere Else<\/em> to a more polished rock and roll sound. It\u2019s obvious from the first chord of \u201cSame To You,\u201d a raking up the strings on a clean, ringing guitar with a deep tremolo set against another electric guitar, smoothly sliding a quick melody. The space between the bass and drums makes for a nicely grooving pocket. Loveless\u2019s backing band is a precision unit, playing lush arrangements. There are some dreamy moments, too. She sings, \u201cGive me just a little bit longer to get over you,\u201d over a wave of harmonies on the poppy \u201cLonger.\u201d \u201cOut On Love\u201d has more in common with the Police than with \u201cBad Way To Go.\u201d On the title track she sings, \u201cyou can just hold my hand if you wanna run away with me,\u201d and the chorus for \u201cBilbao\u201d is \u201cMarry me, there\u2019s nowhere else I\u2019d rather be.\u201d But Loveless has not gone soft. Far from it. She has rounded into something more complex and maybe more complete, but she still has plenty of grit and venom. \u201cSame To You\u201d is polished sonically, but the story is rough. \u201cIf I say another word it\u2019ll be my last,\u201d she sings to open the song, \u201cI can tell by the color of your face you\u2019re mad\/I\u2019ll have to take a few so I don\u2019t talk back\/Well it\u2019s gonna be one of those days.\u201d It\u2019s the story of a woman struggling to leave a relationship she knows she needs to leave behind. On \u201cMidwestern Guys,\u201d she laments a man who wants to \u201cmake love, not fuck\u201d and sings, \u201cThese January nights\/They really make me hate my life\/And I want to get into a fight.\u201d And while \u201cLonger\u201d is a pretty pop tune, but she prefaces the previously mentioned line with, \u201cI need to get a clue.\u201d The old Lydia is alive and well. She\u2019s just got a couple of new ways to wallop you.
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