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Lydia Loveless Desire Sorry
2017
| BS 966
Digital Only

Desire / Sorry

Lydia Loveless

Digital single featuring a previously unreleased song and Lydia's stark, gripping take on...ahem...Justin Bieber's pop phenomenon "Sorry"

Full Description

Side A is "Desire," a true arrow-to-the-chest Loveless gut-wrencher...complete with arson! Thickly distorted twin guitars and a right-in-the-pocket, half-waltzing rhythm section fill out Lydia's desperate longing and fury for a spoken-for lover. Lydia's vocal range will melt your hair right onto your skull. 

Side B is Lydia's take on another ubiquitous pop ditty (see: her covers of Prince's "I Would Die 4 U," Elvis Costello's "Alison," and Kesha's "Blind"); this time it's Justin Bieber's mega-produced semi-reggaeton chart-ruler "Sorry" (yes, you definitely know it). Lydia does what she does best and reaches deep into the heart of the song, ripping away the studio magic and million-dollar production, and wrings out enough emotion for you to cock your head with a slight tear in your eye and say "oh no...do I actually like a Justin Bieber song? God dammit!" Lydia plays a delicate finger-picked guitar line while guitarist Todd May gives the song a pool of reverb to swim in. And it's glorious. You may have heard this one live on Lydia's Real tour. (When we first heard it at the Cubs World Series kickoff at Metro in Chicago, we simply couldn't believe our ears.) 

Short Description

  • “Desire,” a grand and smoky ballad that cuts right to the heart of what we like about Loveless. And the surprising cover of Justin Bieber’s monster hit “Sorry,” a sincere and intense version that works as a nice contrast to the slick original.

    — Stereogum

  • What's actually interesting is covering a song in a way that reveals something deeper, darker or just different...Lydia Loveless unpack[s] the fear, sadness and defiant defensiveness that swirl under the surface of Justin Bieber's "Sorry"...her version makes the emotional stakes seem higher, and the self-pity seem harder-won.

    — NPR All Songs Considered

  • A grand and smoky ballad that cuts right to the heart of what we like about Loveless. And... her take on Justin Bieber’s monster hit “Sorry,” a sincere and intense version that works as a nice contrast to the slick original.

    — Stereogum

Track List

  1. Desire
  2. Sorry (Justin Bieber cover)

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