Lucinda Williams

“My dad, as a poet, always told me to never censor myself – that’s one of his cardinal rules of creative writing,” says multiple-Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. “That became my motto which I’ve stuck by all these years.” Miller Williams’ advice is evident on Lucinda’s eighteenth studio album, World’s Gone Wrong. “I felt a sense of urgency in making this record,” she adds.

The album’s ten topical songs were written and recorded in a burst of collaborative creativity as Lucinda and her co-writers – primarily husband, manager and co-producer Tom Overby, and guitarist Doug Pettibone – grappled with events of spring 2025. They had been working on another album, but the urgency to address the current situation led them to make World’s Gone Wrong in direct response. “Music is a powerful weapon,” she says. “I want this record to make people aware, wake them up. I like to push people’s buttons.”

Lucinda, Pettibone and Overby returned to co-producer Ray Kennedy’s Room & Board Studio in Nashville to record with her newly configured band: guitarist Marc Ford (Black Crowes), drummer Brady Blade (Emmylou Harris) and longtime bassist David Sutton. Guest performers include vocalist Brittney Spencer and keyboardist Rob Burger on the title track, and Mickey Raphael on harmonica on “Lowlife.” The title track takes its name from the 1931 Mississippi Sheiks song, later repurposed by Dylan in 1993, and gives voice to everyday Americans looking for comfort in a song.

The album ranges from the ominous “Something’s Gotta Give,” featuring Spencer and fiery guitar interplay from Pettibone and Ford, to the country-blues “Lowlife,” an ode to a juke joint where weary souls find relief. Lucinda says audiences responded to the song when the band performed it with Raphael during Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Fest. After an August 2 tour stop in Saratoga Springs, they recorded it with Raphael at New York’s Electric Lady Studio.

Other tracks include “Sing Unburied Sing,” inspired by Jesmyn Ward’s 2017 novel and featuring background vocals by Maureen Murphy and Siobhan Kennedy; “Black Tears,” with Reese Wynan on Hammond B3; and “Punchline,” which takes aim at false gods, deceivers and people being taught to hate. In “Freedom Speaks,” Lucinda urges listeners to stand up and fight. The punk-blues “How Much Did You Get for Your Soul?” is a sequel of sorts to “Man Without a Soul,” from 2020’s Good Souls Better Angels.

The album’s sole cover is Bob Marley’s “So Much Trouble in the World,” featuring Mavis Staples. The hymnlike closing track, “We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Around,” features Norah Jones on piano and harmonies. “Norah’s voice lifts the song up,” says Lucinda. “Her part is subtle, kind of quiet, but it adds a whole level of something to the song.”

Over the past 45 years, Lucinda Williams has released a back catalog that includes 1998’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, won three Grammy awards and received numerous accolades, including being named America’s Best Songwriter by Time Magazine in 2001. Her work is known for its distinctive vocals and songwriting.