Accolades EP Cover Art
“There’s a touch of Billy Joel to ‘Avoiding Highways,’ and some Tom Petty optimism on the title track ‘Accolades,’ resplendent with little lyrical gems like “I guess I’m just looking for a way to be as bored as the good old days,’” – Pitchfork
“It’s a diary for the social media age, but also a summation of the power Loveless has accrued as an artist: the power to strut and to mourn over the same chord changes.” – Glide Magazine.
Lydia Loveless’ new EP Accolades is out today via Bloodshot Records. Co-produced and engineered by Matt Ross-Spang (Margo Price, Dr. Dog, Jason Isbell), the collection–which was announced alongside the electric version of the title track (watch the video)–is drawing high praise and support from Pitchfork, Glide Magazine, Americana Highways, and more. Loveless will celebrate the release by hitting the road for two dates with Ha Ha Tonka next month, and today announces the initial dates of a February headlining tour. Please see below for a current itinerary, with more dates to be announced soon.
Pigeonhole Loveless at your peril. Over the course of seven studio albums, the Columbus, Ohio-based singer-songwriter has become known for wry, observant lyrics that don’t sugarcoat the realities of everyday life. Although frequently associated with the Americana scene thanks to early Bloodshot Records albums such as 2013’s Boy Crazy, their catalog is much more expansive: 2023’s full-length Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again boasts sturdy songcraft that defies categorization, while 2024’s Something Else featured piano versions of the songs on their critically acclaimed 2014 country/pop/rock breakthrough Somewhere Else. Throughout 2025, Loveless released a song a month on Bandcamp, challenging themself to be prolific and productive. Several of those appear on Accolades, which is signature Loveless: a deeply personal meditation on relationships, the music business and navigating the modern world, conveyed via a mix of dark humor, blunt assessments and the occasional sliver of light.
Musically, the collection again detonates any expectations, encompassing ‘90s alternative rock (the Liz Phair-esque “Oklahoma”) and muscular bar-band anthems (the Farfisa organ-augmented “What We Learned”), as well as more stripped down fare. Woodwinds such as flute and clarinet add subtle orchestral glamour to the easygoing torch song “Avoiding Highways,” while velvety horns give “Let Me Get My Hopes Up” a soulful touch. Accolades nods to the sound of Loveless’ earlier work, albeit from the perspective of someone with more life experience. “I do feel like there is a very Americana sense to it as much as there isn’t,” Loveless says with a laugh. “I was really inspired by Tom Petty on a lot of these songs, where I wanted to give them space to breathe, like I feel like a lot of his songs do, and focus more on telling stories than dumping my life on everyone.”
Accolades is bookended by the two different versions of the title track–a laid back electric take and a plaintive, spare rendering sprinkled with deconstructed piano–and Loveless says the song “felt like the centerpiece” of the record in the way it touched on the messy noise of modern living. “Anyone can get on the internet and voice their opinion piled on top of each other, of everyone saying the same thing and having the same stupid hot take. Myself included,” they say. “I miss the mental quiet that came before we all knew what everyone was thinking all of the time.” Although Accolades doesn’t necessarily come up with any answers to these thorny situations, the EP does emphasize that all of us are in this challenging world together. “I really feel at home in these songs,” Loveless says. “I stopped trying to make any stylistic choice and just served each song. It didn’t feel like I was trying to craft this long, cohesive narrative. I just allowed myself to enjoy making music with my band.”
Read Lydia Loveless’ full bio / download hi res images HERE.
Lydia Loveless, Credit: Chad Cochran
Lydia Loveless Live:
11/27/26 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway*
11/28/26 - Berwyn, IL - Fitzgerald’s*
2/5/27 - Columbus, OH - Natalie’s Grandview
2/6/27 - Evanston, IL - The Space
2/7/27 - Milwaukee, WI - The Cooperage
2/9/27 - Minneapolis, MN - Cloudland
2/11/27 - Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads
2/19/27 - Buffalo, NY - Sportsmens/The Cave
2/20/27 - Troy, NY - No Fun
*with Ha Ha Tonka
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For more information, please contact Amanda Pitts at Chromatic PR.