Good Souls Better Angels,<\/em> came with the anti-Trump heat-rock \u201cMan Without a Soul\u201d), but this is the most focused social commentary she\u2019s ever delivered.<\/p>\n\n\tThe album-opening title track is a prime example of the kind of detailed storytelling that\u2019s been Williams\u2019 hallmark throughout her career, most famously on classic albums like her 1988 breakthrough, Lucinda Williams,<\/em> and her 1998 masterpiece, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.<\/em> She sings about a couple trying to grind out a life (she\u2019s a nurse, he sells cars); they\u2019re stressed to the breaking point by financial strain, battered by the polarized craziness of the news, and searching for fleeting moments of solace and togetherness. The tune\u2019s slow, sturdy anthemic rise (aided by Black country artist Brittney Spencer on backing vocals) might bring to mind Bruce Springsteen\u2019s blue-collar benedictions, but the deep ache in the Louisiana-bred, 73-year-old singer-songwriter\u2019s burdened, bareknuckled drawl makes the sentiment all her own and drives it home.<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n\n\n
\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tThat sympathy for the stretched-thin everyday American is sharply contrasted with the searing sense of rage at the selfishness of the oligarchy that comes through in the soulful Southern-rock haymaker \u201cHow Much Did You Get for Your Soul.\u201d On the mordant, slow boil \u201cPunchline,\u201d her rage at the reality of \u201cpeople beyond the blues\/Too many dying in their shoes\u201d lapses into metaphysical incredulousness: \u201cDid God forget the punch line?\u201d she asks. The scorching Delta blues \u201cBlack Tears\u201d reminds us of the racism that often undergirds American oppression, with references to churches burning, voices not heard, and a dream deferred. She hues that point to her own eclectic sense of rock & roll tradition with a version of the Bob Marley song \u201cSo Much Trouble in the World,\u201d joined by 86-year-old Chicago soul legend Mavis Staples.<\/p>\n
\n\tWorld\u2019s Gone Wrong<\/em> is a bleak assessment of the road we\u2019re on as a country \u2014 at times suggesting the doom-haunted foretellings of Robert Johnson or Hank Williams by way of Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Zohran Mamdani. But there\u2019s resilience, joy, and hope here, too. Williams finds release in \u201cLow Life,\u201d co-written with indie-folk heroes Big Thief; it\u2019s a sweet ode to a local bar where you can escape the crush of life, take off your shoes, knock back $1.25 highballs, and listen to Slim Harpo. She closes the album with two songs that demand we maintain a sense of optimism. On the upbeat \u201cFreedom Speaks,\u201d she embodies the voice of freedom itself: \u201cDon\u2019t take me for granted\/Stand up and fight,\u201d she implores. She ends the album on acoustic guitar, joined by Norah Jones on vocals and piano, playing a beautiful country waltz called \u201cWe\u2019ve Come Too Far to Turn Around.\u201d Williams turns the title phrase into a chant you can imagine hearing at Civil Rights protests or labor rallies, her way of tapping into the long, often frus\u00adtrated but ultimately enduring march toward a better, fairer world. This album glimpses that tomorrow, just over the horizon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I f you\u2019re paying attention to politics in 2026, it\u2019s not that hard to see where the trend line is heading. The big buzzword…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":56372,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop","article","has-excerpt","has-avatar","has-author","has-date","has-comment-count","has-category-meta","has-read-more","thumbnail-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}