Indestructible Machine

Lydia Loveless' sophomore release, Indestructible Machine, sees the alt-country spitfire exploding into a country-punk fireball. “Bad Way To Go” makes clear the road ahead. There are more barbed-wire guitars, more songs with Loveless spewing what’s on her mind with the color of a gin-soaked sailor on leave, and truckloads more of her redhaired fury. Loveless easily earns the “punk” half of the country-punk label here (she did do some time as a youth the punk scene of Columbus, Ohio). Songs like “Can’t Change Me” and “More Like Them” are full of big, chugging guitars and aggressive percussion; “Jesus Was a Wino” and “Do Right” surge on amphetamine snares and nervy banjo. When Loveless isn’t telling funny stories (the fictional “Steve Earle” is a hoot) or delivering a verbal bitch-slap with her powerhouse voice, she’s lamenting another hangover or her bad behavior. “My mouth is like a sinking boat / I keep pouring words out, hopin’ I can keep afloat,” she almost apologizes. We forgive you, Lydia. Carry on.