Margo Price – Hard Headed Woman (2025)

Margo Price has passed Steven Hyden’s five-album test. The five-album test is an artist or group releasing five consecutive albums ranging from very good to flat-out excellent. Many artists have five good to excellent albums over their career, but very few string five together consecutively. Margo’s five-album run:

1. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter (2016) After years of struggling in Nashville, Margo took her last shot, pawned her car and wedding ring to record the album at Sun Studios in Memphis. She couldn’t get any labels to bite, but somehow convinced Jack White and Third Man Records to release a traditional country album, and she suddenly became an “overnight success.” I said at the time: “With a voice somewhere between Emmy Lou and Dolly and with the pen of Loretta Lynn, Margo Price storms out of a Memphis studio in a Nashville state of mind. This is one hell of a debut.”
2. All American Made (2017) Her Third Man follow-up was solid, I said at the time: “This is no sophomore slump. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter was not the work of a rookie – Price was a mature talent in her early thirties with plenty of life and musical experience when she recorded it. So it is not surprising she has released a solid follow-up.“
3. That’s How Rumors Get Started (2020) – After two albums produced by Matt Ross-Spang, Margo turned to her old buddy Sturgill Simpson to record a rock album. In my original review, I said: “Margo Price does not want to be boxed into a genre. After two magnificent country albums (I mean real country, not Nashville pop) she has released a 70s rock album and it is fantastic! There are so many influences: Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac, the Stones, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Linda Ronstadt – so many influences that it sounds original. Rather than copying her influences, she has been inspired by them.“
4. Strays and Strays II (2023) – Margo brilliantly went down a psych-rock rabbit hole with Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty’s producer) and perfected her rock sound into a female Tom Petty. It was perfect.
5. Hard Headed Woman (2025) – Margo returns to her country sound with her original producer, Matt Ross-Spang, recording the album at the legendary RCA Studio A.  Hard Headed Woman might be her best yet!

Per Jeremy Ivey, Margo’s husband and primary musical collaborator, hyping Hard Headed Woman on his Instagram:

“People seem to put so much emphasis on the current authentic no bullshit country revival, but don’t remember how it started. She was one of the ones to put up two middle fingers up and definitely the first woman since the likes of Lorretta Lynn to take a swing at the behind the times male centric universe of country music filled with bigotry and backwards thinking. The Nashville system that for so long has only used women as lustful objects and vapid ornaments. Fuck them! Here’s your villain you weak ass bitches! She’s a hard headed woman and she don’t owe you shit”

Hard Headed Woman track by track:

“Prelude {Hard Headed Woman}” is a brief opener that is based on everything I know about Margo, her elevator speech:

“I’m a hard-headed woman, and I don’t owe you shit
I ain’t ashamed, I just am what I am
And I am high as the heavens
I’m stubborn as hell
I ain’t ashamed, I’m just a hard-headed woman”

“Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down” is classic Outlaw country. Coming out of Margo’s mouth, this sounds like a Nashville industry survival anthem, but its themes are universal to anyone trying to survive a soul-crushing line of work.

“Red Eye Flight” has a late 70s Emmylou Harris vibe. It combines breakup and traveling – a need to get out of town fast.

“Don’t Wake Me Up” (featuring Jesse Welles) is a song where the narrator would rather live in the dream world than the conscious world: “Don’t wake me up, I ain’t up for that.” Jesse Welles is the perfect male voice to subtly harmonize with Margo. Nice timing, Margo – just as Jesse Welles is having a moment!

“Close To You” has a Lucinda Williams vibe (and Margo namechecks Lu in the lyrics).

“Nowhere Is Where” is a gorgeous traveling song – yet another get out of town song.

“Losing Streak” is a lovely country-rock song that evokes both Dylan and Ryan Adams with universal sentiment: “Peace of mind is hard to find when you’re on a losin’ streak.”

“I Just Don’t Give A Damn” is a George Jones cover done as country funk with Bonnie Raitt sass.

“Keep A Picture” is a sad remembrance of a lover before things went south.

“Love Me Like You Used To Do” (featuring Tyler Childers) is a perfect bittersweet duet dripping with twang. The song was written by Steven Knudson, who appears to be an obscure Nashville Songwriter.

“Wild At Heart” is a lovely up-tempo country song that remembers a better time between a couple.

“Kissing You Goodbye” is an obscure Waylon Jennings song from an equally obscure 1996 Waylon album, Right For The Time. Love the Outlaw humor of the lyric: “So get your tongue out of my mouth, I’m kissing you goodbye.”

“Too Stoned To Cry” (featuring Billy Strings) is a bonus track on the CD edition (but is also available as a single on streaming services). The song was released as a single in September of 2024 and has been out there for a while. Classic country weeper with this chorus:

“There’s whiskey and wine
And pills for the pain
Fast easy women and a little cocaine
I’m walkin’ the line between hell bent and high
I ain’t happy, just too stoned to cry“

As much as I enjoyed Margo’s rock and roll detour, I am happy to have her back in the arms of country – especially her East-Nashville take on the genre which aligns with my alt-country/Americana taste. Great album and will for sure be on my best of 2025.