World's Gone Wrong

Williams revels in the comfort of rock’n’roll, encouraging her band to play loud even when they’re playing slow. .... There’s a casual, authoritative swing to their [the band's] performance that belies the stylistic range on the record; the songs touch upon different traditions, yet all sound of a piece.

World's Gone Wrong is an album of its moment that addresses issues that have been with us for centuries, and like a good blues song, they never stop being timely – and worth singing loud and clear, which is just what Williams does here.

This is the most focused social commentary she’s ever delivered.

World’s Gone Wrong extends Williams’ fertile run, infused with the aesthetic adventurousness and undiluted honesty that have characterized her work for over four decades.

World’s Gone Wrong is a protest album, almost seething with rage about what’s happening in America. She may be 72 years old and a survivor of a stroke which has left her with mobility issues, but that unmistakable voice remains as powerful as ever.

Williams and her band more often than not find a groove that makes our shared downward spiral feel downright danceable.

World’s Gone Wrong manages to turn the Tennessee-based songwriter’s urgent dismay and anger at the socio-political chaos that is tearing America apart into genuinely impactful and affecting art that is likely to endure long after the final splinters of the current mess have been swept away.

World’s Gone Wrong may well turn out to be a landmark release in Lucinda Williams’ career. But it’s not only its uncompromising lyrical message but its musical direction that raises questions. You can’t recapture lightning in a bottle, and it may be that her future lies in a less quirky, more strident genre than previously. And that’s a choice she has earned the right to make. [Jan 2026, p.98]

The music is straight and soothing, a band coming together in a rootsy salve as Williams returns to a favourite theme, deliverance through music. [Feb 2026, p.24]