Margo Price Hard Headed Woman

Critic's Take

Margo Price returns to roots on Hard Headed Woman, leaning into classic country craft while stealing small pleasures. Hermes singles out “Nowhere Is Where” as an aching near-classic and praises the rollicking energy of “Red Eye Flight” and the Stones-tinged swagger of “Losing Streak”. The record feels like tasteful integration rather than retreat, a set where covers and collaborations pay off and the best tracks stand as proof that Price still knows how to make timeless country songs.

Key Points

• The aching ballad “Nowhere Is Where” is the album's standout for its near-classic Patsy Cline resonance.
• Price's strengths are classic songcraft, savvy covers and collaborations, and finding pleasure amid political unease.

Themes

Critic's Take

Margo Price pins herself to the honky tonk track on Hard Headed Woman, and the best songs - notably “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” and “Don’t Wake Me Up” - show why. The opener “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” contains the lyric of the year and spins downright anthemic lines, setting the tone for Price’s coarse defiance. Later, the bubbly “Don’t Wake Me Up” and the slow dread of “Close to You” reveal two faces of her songwriting, playful and existential in equal measure. Penultimate “Wild At Heart” neatly dovetails personal regrets and political motifs, proving Price’s rebellious soul is still intact.

Key Points

• “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” is the album’s standout for its quotable, anthemic lyric and defiantly playful delivery.
• The album’s core strengths are its blend of personal storytelling and political defiance, wrapped in honky tonk arrangements and sharp lyrics.

Themes

Critic's Take

In a return to her roots, Margo Price shapes Hard Headed Woman into a joyous country record where the best tracks - namely “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” and “Don’t Wake Me Up” - balance humour and defiance. Maddy Smith’s prose delights in the album’s rhinestone-strewn landscapes and saccharine vocals, celebrating how those songs marry bubblegum country melodies with sharper political undertones. The record’s covers, like “Love Me Like You Used To Do”, add warmth and camaraderie, making the best songs on Hard Headed Woman feel both timeless and timely. Overall, it reads as a heartfelt, personable collection that foregrounds Price’s storytelling and conviction.

Key Points

• The best song, “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down”, succeeds by blending humour with political undertones and classic country hooks.
• The album’s core strengths are heartfelt storytelling, classic country tropes, and a warm return to Price’s Nashville roots.

Themes

Critic's Take

In his clear-eyed tone, Steve Horowitz frames Margo Price as defiantly herself on Hard Headed Woman, with the best songs being the anthemic “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” and the rollicking “I Just Don’t Give a Damn”. He praises how the record balances fury and tenderness - the former in those “don’t” tracks, the latter in quieter moments like “Close to You” and “Love Me Like You Used To Do”. The review argues these songs crystallize Price’s hardheaded honesty and make them the standout tracks on the album.

Key Points

• The best song is “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” because it crystallizes Price’s defiant, anthemic spirit.
• The album’s core strengths are its balance of hardheaded anger and tender country moments, delivered with autobiographical honesty.

Themes

Critic's Take

From the first lines the review reads like a homecoming: Margo Price leans back into a rootsy country sound on Hard Headed Woman, and the best songs - notably “Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down” and “Don’t Wake Me Up” - carry her fiery, unapologetic voice. Daniel Kohn’s tone is admiring and precise, noting how producer Matt Ross-Spang tightens the album while songs like “I Just Don’t Give A Damn” and “Losing Streak” trade raw autobiography for rousing protest. Tender moments such as the duet “Love Me Like You Used To Do” and the pedal-steel longing of “Close To You” give the record emotional balance. The result is an album that feels purposeful and alive, a return that reinforces Price’s refusal to compromise while delivering some of the best tracks on Hard Headed Woman.

Key Points

• The best song is the first single, "Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down," because it is a throwback country rocker and rallying cry.
• The album’s core strengths are its return to country roots, fiery protest themes, autobiographical honesty, and balanced tender moments.

Themes

Critic's Take

Margo Price arrives home on Hard Headed Woman, and the best songs - notably “Losing Streak” and “Love Me Like You Used To Do” - prove she wears country like armour. James McNair writes with that admiring, slightly rueful Mojo cadence, admiring the record's rhinestones and tear-soaked Kleenex while praising its stubborn individuality. The duet with Tyler Childers is praised as a last-chance saloon ballad that convinces, while “Losing Streak” channels Price's crucible-born honesty to strong effect. This is an album both reverent and restless, where classic lexicon meets horns, Telecaster chicken-pickin' and blackly comic lines to memorable result.

Key Points

• Losing Streak is best for its raw, crucible-born honesty and convincing delivery.
• The album's core strengths are a return to classic country language, strong personal songwriting, and bold production choices.

Themes