Angelo Petraglia has produced records for Kings of Leon, Patty Griffin and Be Your Own Pet. He’s also co-written songs recorded by Taylor Swift, Peter Wolf, Emmylou Harris and other stars (including the aforementioned Kings and Griffin), so he knows what makes a great song and a great record. Even so, few could have foreseen the serious artistic statement Petraglia would make when he took his own turn in the spotlight on Suede & ’Lene’s impressive debut album Hymns for Lost Things.
Guitarist Petraglia plays Suede to bassist Eulene Sherman’s ’Lene. The pair previously teamed in The Jane Shermans, but Sherman sang lead in that band, whereas Petraglia handles the lead vocals in their new group. His gravelly voice is reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s, which is fitting because Dylan’s spirit inhabits the entire album both lyrically and musically, especially the spirit of his mid-’70s masterpieces Blood on the Tracks and Desire.
Make no mistake — Hymns for Lost Things is one of the best rock records of 2025. The album opens with “A Message From Jane,” a powerful song about a troubled woman who “keeps coming up with the goods, but feels so underrated.” The duo says Jane is a character that runs through their lives: “Sometimes she's in our band, sometimes she's in our songs. She's an expression of our creativity. She is our muse.”
From there, the album winds through another 10 songs co-written by the duo, which are a mix of social commentary and stories about interesting and possibly tragic characters, including another appearance by Jane in “Harry’s in a Funk.” Some of the commentary is profound. Case in point: “God Sends the Devil” includes the thought-provoking hook, “Sometimes God / To get things done / He sends the devil.”
No track speaks to the record’s brilliance more than the punkish “I Was In a Cult.” A seemingly personal story, it also reflects the state of a nation with half its population in the grips of cult of personality.
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