Lucinda Williams’ sixteenth studio album is a politically charged bluesy, roots rocker released into a chaotic world early in 2026. Williams’ aging and raspy singing voice adds a gravitas to the recordings including the title track about a couple trying to make both ends meat and sense of the world. Like a lot of us, they are both “looking for comfort in a song”. “Something’s Gotta Give” ponders that “there’s darkness to these days.. as the light fades away”.
Mavis Staples joins for the Bob Marley cover of “So Much Trouble in the World”, a bit more atmospheric in a honky-tonk bar. A sleek guitar in the chorus adds some punch to the very good sounding “Punchline” while the album closes with a hymn like gospel sounds of “We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Around”. Like lots of people, the characters in the songs are trying to come to grips with how the world is turning these days – talk of ballrooms amongst rising gas prices. Williams does a very good job of articulating these feelings in a tuneful way.
7/10
The Light Appears 