If you're someone who seeks out the place where punk rock, country music, crafted songwriting, and raw, immediate, visceral garagey rock & roll meet, look no further than
Indestructible Machine
, the
Bloodshot
debut of
Lydia Loveless
. The 21-year-old Ohioan is the product of a rock & roll drummer daddy (who plays in her band), a
Loretta Lynn
-worshiping momma, and a boyfriend who hipped her to country music's outlaws and the latter-day XXX-brand country of
Hank III
,
Shooter Jennings
, etc.
reflects all this, but
Loveless
is more than the sum of her influences: her writing and singing talents are in their own class. She has a big throaty voice that recalls
Neko Case
's at first blush, but
' is bigger, richer, more expressive -- her singing owes more to singers
Lynn
and
Jeannie C. Riley
. She's backed by a bona fide careening country sextet with lead guitarist
Todd May
, banjo boss
Rob Woodruff
, pedal steel player
Barry Hensley
, fiddler
Adrian Jusdanis
Ben Lamb
on bass, and dad
Parker Chandler
on skins. The set kicks off at 100 miles per with "Bad Way to Go." The banjo and guitar struggle for dominance, the snare and kick drums skitter at a gallop, and
wails atop a charging bassline. Her colorful language is filled with double and triple entendres and images of a seedy America reflected in the rear-view mirror. "Can't Change Me" is a feminist anthem that stays on electrical overload but in a minor key. "How Many Women" is a straight-up honky tonk weeper. "Jesus Was a Wino" is a rockin' triple-time 2-step that celebrates the Son of God's empathy for the struggling human race. The song "Steve Earle" simply has to be heard to be believed; it's hysterically funny. If
the Rolling Stones
had ever recorded with the young
Emmylou Harris
when she was part of
Gram Parsons
' band, it might have sounded similar to "Learn to Say No," one of the finest moments on the record. "Do Right," with its NASCAR-fueled bluegrass tempo and dueling banjo and guitars, is an unapologetic paean to the consequences of substance abuse. "Crazy" is a spare country lust song worthy of
Charles Bukowski
.
'
possesses a classicist's grip of country, a rock & roll sense of swagger, and the keen eye of a songwriter twice her age. ~ Thom Jurek