Lucinda Williams :: West

I consider Lucinda Williams Car Wheels On A Gravel Road to be a true genre classic in every sense of the word. Its marriage of southern gothic lyrical imagery and atmosphere, paired with a good set of headphones, has the rare power to transport the listener to the deep rural south without stepping foot on a plane. This latest project, however, not so much.

Nearly a decade after Car Wheels release we find Lucinda on her eighth album, West, mourning both the loss of love and the death of her mother. "The songs . . .