Lydia Loveless (she/her/they/them) today surprise released Something Else, a piano ballad reimagining of their acclaimed 2014 sophomore album Somewhere Else, via Bloodshot Records. Earning rave reviews from NPR Music, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone (“an aching, lusty set of twang and sneer wrapped in electric guitar swagger”), and Aquarium Drunkard, among many others,Somewhere Else cemented Loveless in the modern music canon as “a singer-songwriter in full control of her craft” (Stereogum). Something Else celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the original collection, and its stripped-down renderings further spotlight their gift for captivating stories laced with a searing wit and frank honesty, relayed through their inimitable, dynamic vocals. Stream/purchase Something Else now here.
Loveless initially began working on Something Else last spring following their west coast tour in support of 2023’s Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again (Bloodshot Records), which landed on year-end lists including NPR Music (‘Best Songs of 2023’), Rolling Stone (‘Best Indie-Rock Albums of 2023’), Paste (‘30 Best Country/Americana Albums of 2023’), and Sound Opinions. After choosing to pause the process due to some stops and starts as well as illness, they revisited old journals to understand their 22-year-old self who made Somewhere Else–as well as the songs themselves–in order to bring Something Else to life. In the new liner notes, Loveless recalls:
“I discovered a lot of very tiny, practically illegible scribbles by a very angry person who seemed to hate themselves and everyone around them. I didn’t like much of what I was reading. The me of 2012-2013 was drowning in pain and insecurity and my own press, pissed off that nobody could see me for who I really was, what I had really been through, and how hard it was to be me. I was walled in by fears and worries that I would never be good enough. I was struggling with my voice after a debilitating virus and a six week tour. I had rented a little room in the Grandview neighborhood of Columbus and was plugging away on my splintered acoustic guitar with a tape recorder. I was frustrated as could be, not coming up with anything that I felt was ‘me’ or even remotely song like…I don’t remember when things finally broke open for me but I’m certain it had to do with some romantic obsessions I was carrying around, past and present, and I decided to dig in my heels and not try to be accommodating with my words. It wasn’t doing me any favors to be an asshole only in my diary, I had to spill it all over the record too. And Somewhere Else was completed.”
After working through the new arrangements, Loveless captured Something Else at Columbus, OH’s Secret Studio with engineers Caeleigh Featherstone and Keith Hanlon (who also co-produced alongside her, as well as mixing and mastering the album), with additional support from Jason Isbell (vocals on “Somewhere Else”), John Calvin Abney (vocals on “Wine Lips;” co-arranger on “Wine Lips” and “Verlaine Shot Rimbaud”), and Katie Harriman (vocals on “Verlaine Shot Rimbaud”).
