Lone Justice

Lone Justice didn’t invent cowpunk — but there’s an argument to be made that they perfected it on this, their 1985 debut album, a headlong dive into a musical mosh pit that swirled with honky tonk blues, rockabilly, punk, and gospel. Maria McKee’s voice was a wonder: high-pitched but not girlish, soulful but not soully, country but not hillbilly. Jimmy Iovine’s production is dense and loud but also colorful. When Maria McKee snaps “Wait ’Til We Get Home” to her obnoxious boyfriend she makes it very clear that that’s a threat rather than a promise, while “You Are the Light” seems to be an unironic song of religious devotion.