Lydia Loveless “Boy Crazy and Single(s)”

We’ve been fans of Lydia Loveless since her debut record “Indestructible Machine”. She initially came across as a punk inspired country girl. This record is actually a re-release of her Boy Crazy EP but with the added bonus of some new songs and covers.

Opener “All I Know” is a smashing little country pop number, catchy and infectious. Along with “All The Time” it’s a welcome return to a more upbeat sound. The songs on the release are far more joyful than her last album, “Real”, which had a quite introspective feel to it. We particularly like the pounding guitar pop of “Lover’s Spat” and the country rocking of “Boy Crazy”. She also has a great knack of penning story telling lyrics.

There is still some room for melancholy on the more traditional country ballad sound of “The Water” and the pensive “Falling Out Of Love”. However, new songs like “Mile High” and “Come Over” perhaps show a return to a bigger sound with a great combination of rock, country and pop. That’s certainly good news as far as we are concerned.

This release ends with covers of two great songs, “I Would Die 4 U” and “Alison”. It’s a big risk taking on such classic numbers. Ironically, the former song actually ends up sounding like a Haim song, which probably tells you how much that band wears its influence on their sleeves. The version produced by Lydia could easily be a huge hit if it was released as a single. The cover of “Alison” is a stripped down version which just highlights the simplicity and beauty of the song and the lyrics.

Strangely, given it started out as an EP, this release is a great way of showing the range of Lydia’s material. It has the capacity to appeal to country and pop music fans but also be relevant to the rockers and the punks. There are songs to make you laugh, cry and dance. It is certainly a very “American” sounding album but let’s hope it also brings her some greater exposure over here in the UK.