Lucinda Williams has previously released three albums with the word ‘world’ in the title. The first was her 1992 classic ‘Sweet Old World’ where the title song was a poignant tribute to a friend who died by suicide, lamenting his loss and singing of all the beauty they’d left behind. She re-recorded that album in 2017, calling it ‘This Sweet Old World’ as though she was trying to bring back to life the innocent optimism she’d once had. Then there was ‘World Without Tears’ her 2003 album, that seemed to arrive at a kind of weary acceptance of the reality of life’s pain and suffering. 

Her new album ‘World’s Gone Wrong’ has more of the latter’s tone, and yet that positivity of ‘Sweet Old World’ still simmers just below the surface. What this album also brings is a continued fiery spirit that started with her ‘Good Souls Better Angels’ album and suggests she’s become more of an activist, more confident in her politics, more outward looking in her music the older she gets.