Wallowin’ in the Night is what it says on the box—sad songs about love and the back and forth between devotion and loss. It’s a fitting album for someone who aesthetically is like Lee Ann Womack entering a goth phase. I don’t claim to know Williams’ story—if this album is about one or more people or if she wrote about real relationships.

Out the gate, we’re introduced to a relationship of half-requited love where Williams is treated like a side chick to “Someone Else.” The track also sets the tone for the album with a foot-tapping beat, in-the-pocket guitar work and a lyrically driven song structure.

On “Everything You Stood For” and “So Tired,” the album shifts away from following the relationship and instead focuses on coping methods. Sonically, the guitar and bass get heavier and grungier as she begins to self-destructively process her emotions. “So Tired” channels Norman Greenbaum’s guitar into a week-long drink-and-drug-filled binge.

The best and last song, “You Don’t Care At All,” leaves you thinking nothing has changed. Williams, still broken and frail, hasn’t grown a bit since her troubles started. Maybe that’s the point. It reminds me of how people don’t, or at least refuse, to change even for their own good.

There’s a lot of great New Orleans talent on this album with little gems popping up on this verse or that solo. 

This album’s track list tells a disjointed story at best. Maybe Williams was saving the best for last on “You Don’t Care At All.” “Take Me Home” seemed like the natural stop narratively for this LP as a type of song that seems to say goodbye and thanks for the memories. I believe Williams is on to something aesthetically, but the style can be more than just a collection of dreary breakup songs.