Billy Bragg: The Million Things That Never Happened

On his first album of original material since 2013’s Tooth and Nail, British protest singer Billy Bragg takes a tender look at the impact of the pandemic. Recorded in December 2020, the new album is Bragg’s response to the alienation experienced by millions. The title track ponders the cost of putting personal and professional plans on hold while the melancholy piano ballad “Lonesome Ocean” addresses the isolation of the lengthy quarantine. He has said the lockdown—or “shield,” as it’s known in the UK—left him wondering where he fit in after putting his own career on hold. The answer came when his wife, Juliet De Valero, was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer. Her condition inspired Bragg to write “I Will Be Your Shield,” a nod to Britain’s National Health Service and a metaphor for protecting loved ones in the face of adversity. Bragg fans will note that “Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be,” “The Buck Doesn’t Stop Here No More,” and “Freedom Doesn’t Come for Free” reflect the singer’s socialist views and echo the empathetic tone of “The Milkman of Human Kindness,” a sentimental ballad from Bragg’s 1983 debut album Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy.