Somewhere Else (Lydia Loveless album)

Somewhere Else
Studio album by
Lydia Loveless
ReleasedFebruary 18, 2014 (2014-02-18)
StudioSonic Lounge (Columbus, Ohio)
Length42:16
LabelBloodshot
Producer
  • Lydia Loveless
  • Joe Viers
Lydia Loveless chronology
Boy Crazy
(2013) 		Somewhere Else
(2014) 		Real
(2016)

Somewhere Else is the third studio album by American musician Lydia Loveless. It was released on February 18, 2014, by Bloodshot Records.

Somewhere Else was recorded with the same musicians that have extensively toured with Loveless. The album was recorded in two days and was produced by Loveless and engineer Joe Viers at Sonic Lounge in Columbus, Ohio.[1]

Songwriting

Loveless scrapped an entire records' worth of songs before beginning this record.[2] The title track, "Somewhere Else," was written while at SXSW. "Really Wanna See You" was written at Loveless' husband's grandmother's house. Loveless said she used layered guitars on the song to convey an electronica feel.[3]

“Hurts So Bad” was inspired by the tempestuous relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.[2] The song "Head" was co-written with Todd May, who plays guitar in Loveless' band. Loveless said the song went through multiple versions and took a long time to write.[4]

"Verlaine Shot Rimbaud" was featured on a "Special Valentine's Day Edition" of NPR's Morning Edition Heavy Rotation series.[5] It was also featured as a Rolling Stone "Daily Download."[6] The song is about the 19th-century French poets Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud.

Album artwork

The album has a quote from Verlaine's 'Aspiration' inside the cover.[7] The album artwork was created by the Columbus, Ohio-based branding and design agency Blackletter.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[8]
Metacritic81/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
American Songwriter[11]
The A.V. ClubB+[12]
Chicago Tribune[13]
Exclaim!8/10[14]
Los Angeles Times[15]
Paste8.5/10[16]
Pitchfork7.3/10[17]
Spin8/10[18]
Uncut7/10[19]

The album had an overwhelmingly good reception[9] and entered Billboard's Heatseekers chart (new entries to Billboard charts, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan) the first week of its release at position number 7.[20]

Paste describes the record as "an album of blood and guts and emotions—anger and yearning and lust—that are so honest and immediate that they beg to be shared. The strength in Loveless’ vocals is how deftly she moves between tough and vulnerable, the emotions in both realms sincere and familiar."[16] Mark Deming from AllMusic notes Loveless "has developed an uncanny ability to talk about matters of the heart and soul with a lyrical voice that's graceful, keenly observed, and brutally honest."[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lydia Loveless

Somewhere Else (CD, LP)
No.TitleLength
1."Really Wanna See You"3:56
2."Wine Lips"3:42
3."Chris Isaak"4:33
4."To Love Somebody"4:38
5."Hurts So Bad"3:33
6."Head"4:21
7."Verlaine Shot Rimbaud"4:38
8."Somewhere Else"5:24
9."Everything's Gone"4:42
10."They Don't Know" (Kirsty MacColl)2:50

Bonus tracks

  • "Falling Out of Love With You" - iTunes bonus track
  • "Come Over" - vinyl bonus track, available via download code with purchase of vinyl
  • "Blind" - 7" Record Store Day bonus tracks: Limited edition on lime green vinyl. The B-side is an exclusive Ke$ha cover.[21][22] The tracks were released in digital album format May 27, 2014.[23]

Personnel

Band

  • Lydia Loveless – vocals, guitar
  • Todd May – guitar, vocals
  • Ben Lamb – upright bass
  • Nick German – drums

Additional musicians

  • Jay Gasper – steel guitar
  • Nate Holman – keyboards

References

  1. ^ Rich Mahan (2014). "Lydia Loveless - Living on the Bleeding Edge". The Direct Buzz. AirPlay Direct. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b Deusner, Stephen M. (February 13, 2014). "Lydia Loveless Starts Over on Somewhere Else". CMT Edge. Country Music Television, Inc. Retrieved 19 February 2014. I started thinking that I'd better write a real country album. I was writing songs that I really hated and was trying to force some kind of country sound. I basically scrapped everything.
  3. ^ Carlin, Shannon (February 19, 2014). "Interview: Lydia Loveless Strikes Fear in the Hearts of Her Exes on 'Somewhere Else'". Radio.com. CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  4. ^ Davidson, Eric (February 13, 2014). "Q&A: Lydia Loveless". CMJ. CMJ Holdings Corp. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  5. ^ Kot, Greg (Sound Opinions) (February 13, 2014). "Heavy Rotation: 10 Love Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing". Morning Edition. NPR. Retrieved 19 February 2014. Heavy Rotation is a monthly sampler of public radio personalities' favorite songs.
  6. ^ "'Verlaine Shot Rimbaud' by Lydia Loveless - Free MP3". Rolling Stone. February 5, 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  7. ^ Clark, Jeff (March 2014). "Lydia Loveless: Don't Tell Her to Turn it Down, 'Cuz it Ain't Loud Enough!". Stomp and Stammer. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Somewhere Else by Lydia Loveless reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Reviews for Somewhere Else by Lydia Loveless". Metacritic. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Deming, Mark. "Somewhere Else – Lydia Loveless". AllMusic. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  11. ^ Horowitz, Hal (March 3, 2014). "Lydia Loveless: Somewhere Else". American Songwriter. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  12. ^ Grant, Sarah (February 18, 2014). "Hopelessness drives country singer Lydia Loveless to new musical heights". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  13. ^ Kot, Greg (February 25, 2014). "Lydia Loveless 'Somewhere Else' review". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  14. ^ Gzowski, Mick (February 14, 2014). "Lydia Loveless: Somewhere Else". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  15. ^ Martens, Todd (February 18, 2014). "Album review: Lydia Loveless' brazen 'Somewhere Else'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  16. ^ a b Swedlund, Eric (February 18, 2014). "Lydia Loveless: Somewhere Else". Paste. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  17. ^ Deusner, Stephen M. (February 17, 2014). "Lydia Loveless: Somewhere Else". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  18. ^ Harris, Keith (February 13, 2014). "Serenity Never: Lydia Loveless Brings a Gritty, Witchy Arsonist's Zeal to 'Somewhere Else'". Spin. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  19. ^ "Lydia Loveless: Somewhere Else". Uncut (204): 77. May 2014.
  20. ^ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard's. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014. Peak position: 7; Last week's position: -; Weeks on chart: 1
  21. ^ Hughes, Hilary (March 17, 2014). "The Lawless Sound of Lydia Loveless". Elle. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  22. ^ "Lydia Loveless: Mile High". Record Store Day. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  23. ^ Sacher, Andrew (May 14, 2014). "Lydia Loveless giving RSD single "Mile High" a wider release (stream it +++ updated tour dates)". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 15 May 2014.