Nikki Lane - Highway Queen (Black Vinyl)

This 10-track effort sees Lane co-producing with fellow singer-songwriter Jonathan Tyler. This is Lane’s first time producing, as Dan Auerbach handled production on 2014’s All or Nothin‘ and Dave Cobb and Lewis Pesacov split duties on 2011’s Walk of Shame.

The first single from Highway Queen is the title track, a roaring down-and-dirty cut in line with country music’s strong-willed foremothers, such as Wanda Jackson and Loretta Lynn. The song’s message of independence and empowerment is best summed up in the chorus lyric “The Highway Queen don’t need no king.”

Other songs on the album include Jackpot which is inspired by Las Vegas and Lane’s relationship with Tyler, and 700,000 Rednecks, a tribute to her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina.