Few people make a fine art out of messy breakups the way Lydia Loveless can. Their melodious yearning gives all of their songs a special oomph, elevating these songs from great music to something immediate and direct. Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again finds Loveless returning to softer, guitar-based music after Daughter‘s incandescent explorations into pop and electronic music. Here, Loveless examines loss and emotional damage with the air of someone who’s climbed out of it before and is amused to find themselves in the shit again.
The album has its share of rockers — “Poor Boy” centers the narrator as the agent of chaos in this particular relationship, set to a groove that would feel at home in any decade of rock’n’roll. “Sex and Money” stands out as the brassiest song on the album, a hilarious takedown of those who chase after fame and how they compromise their morals. While the album grows more introspective in the middle, “French Restaurant” livens things up towards the end — a headlong rush into a relationship on its last legs: you can feel the plates flying.
But Loveless isn’t just here to party: Nothing’s Gonna Stand explores a gauzy cosmic rock that serves to help the listeners tap into their pain while holding them off at a distance. “Feel” marks the album’s climax, with gently stroked guitars that resemble violins, marking the tragedy the protagonist has made of their lives — a constant push/pull of resentment and wasted ambitions. Similarly, “Ghost” puts up a bold front as the narrator expresses their desire to haunt a former lover’s waking memory, but there’s plenty of swagger behind the heartache.
It’s the album opener that clinches everything, though. “Song About You” is a quiet, simple declaration of regret and wonder at how something that began so easily could fall apart without anyone even noticing. In answering that question, Loveless reminds us to be vigilant in protecting what’s important and letting go of what’s left.