Even with nine studio releases behind it, Lioness is an album of firsts for country singer-songwriter Beccy Cole. It’s the first time Cole felt confident enough to record her guitar playing. And it was the first Australian record to be made entirely by women. By that point, Cole had assembled a roster of female musicians she lovingly referred to as ‘The Sisters of Twang,’ nine of whom appear on Lioness under producer Julz Parker. Cole had married her partner, singer Libby O’Donovan, just months before the release of Lioness in 2018. Much of the record explores this relationship—which would later dissolve in 2022—but in Cole’s inimitable style, she finds the rawness in romance with disarming revelations. And her famously funny persona lightens any of Lioness’ more uncomfortable sentiments, such as when she croons “My wife’s got balls/They must be somewhere in her overalls” on “My Wife’s Got Balls”.