A track-by-track review of Miranda Lambert's new album “Postcards From Texas”

There's a lot of great music on Miranda Lambert's new album. Postcards from TexasWe have a track-by-track review.

The wait is over. Almost. From Friday (September 13th) you can Postcards from Texasthe long-awaited ninth studio album from superstar Miranda Lambert.

And after listening to the LP in advance, I can say with enthusiasm: the wait was worth it.

Miranda offers no less than 14 songs on Postcards from Texas, an irresistibly entertaining lineup that includes mostly new material and a Stetson-style cover of a classic. It was recorded in their native Texas, with the help of outstanding collaborators such as Brent Cobb, Natalie Hemby, Jack Ingram and the album's co-producer Jon Randall. And it all adds up to a superlative package that elicited praise from Jon Dolan. Rolling Stone His four-star review states: “It's a straightforward, happy-go-lucky country record, an album that proudly embraces tradition and is every bit as entertaining and heartfelt as you'd expect from one of country's most free-spirited singers.”

Amen.

1. “Armadillo”
(Aaron Raitiere, Jon Decious, Parker Twomey)

A weed-smoking armadillo? Why not? Miranda gets started Postcards from Texas with a nasal, quirky ditty about a hitchhiker who asks her for a ride and even offers to share a joint or two with her – without warning that the police are on his tail. If you're a little skeptical about her story, Miranda has a preemptive answer: “Don't try to call my bluff, honey, you can't make this shit up.”

2. “Damn it, Randy”
(Miranda Lambert, Brendan McLoughlin, Jon Randall)

Another breakup song from the Queen of Outlaw Country that celebrates less the breakup itself than her newfound independence. Either way, it sounds like she's rid of a self-centered guy who was stingy with his attention: “So damn it, Randy, were you even listening to me?/You were standing bone dry in the middle of a waterfall/You were living in the dark but you couldn't see the daylight/We looked perfect but you couldn't put it in a frame.”

3. “Looking back at Luckenbach”
(Miranda Lambert, Shane McAnally, Natalie Hemby)

Miranda's sweet, nostalgic look back at the beginnings of her music career is at once charmingly poignant and teasingly ambiguous. Is she moved to “pop a top hat” to celebrate a cherished memory, or to dull the pain of knowing the good times are never coming back? She doesn't even let us know if the guy she's singing about is still in her life or someone who left her long ago. Either way, it's a beautiful piece of work. “Just a place we roll through/But to me it’s always you/Sometimes I just stop/And look back at Luckenbach.”

4. “Santa Fe” with Parker McCollum
(Miranda Lambert, Jesse Frasure, Jessie Jo Dillon, Dean Dillon)

Another memory song, this time more specific and arguably more heartbreaking. Yes, Miranda – or at least the character she takes on, like a great actor perfectly cast – returns to a titular town once again to bring back warm memories of a relationship. But as she sings about her annual trip to “that empty turquoise town,” there's no doubt that the person or thing she longs for won't be there. And she knows it. But no matter: “Every September I come back here/I'm holding on to a memory that will never fade.”

5. “January Heart”
(Brent Cobb, Neil Medley)

Let's face it: After hearing these last three songs, you might be thinking, “Damn! Is this poor girl never going to find—and, more importantly, keep—the one?” So it's both a special joy and a satisfying relief to hear Miranda sound dreamily grateful and unashamedly happy. If this song gets the attention it deserves, don't be surprised if you hear it as the first song at wedding receptions for years to come, as the bride and groom smile and slow dance. “I live in heaven/I live in better weather/Since you've been here/You never let the sun go down.”

6. “Wranglers”
(Audra Mae, Evan McKeever, Ryan Carpenter)

Miranda is back in badass mode, harking back to the days of “Gunpowder & Lead” and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” In this case, as Trey Fanjoy's stunning music video makes clear, she offers some encouraging advice to a friend whose no-good boyfriend dumped her: burn everything he left behind. That's right, “It takes forever for Wranglers to burn.” But it's great fun to watch the fire.

7. “Running”
(Miranda Lambert)

“Down”, one of the deep cuts on Gunpowder and lead (2007) has always been one of my favorite Miranda Lambert songs, for reasons I'd rather not explain. With equal amounts of cheeky boastfulness and chilling menace, she warned that because a man had once broken her heart, she would spend the rest of her life seeking revenge by loving and leaving naive/vulnerable men. (“You don't want to stand there/When the storm comes you don't stand a chance/My wind will bring you to your knees/Stay away from me.”) “Run” kind of went in the same direction – a matter of taste, I’ll admit that – but she sounds much more remorseful when she tells her buddy, hey, I’d never stay here long: “We fought for our lives, baby/But we both knew/I would run away… I would always run away.”

8. “Maintenance”
(Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby, Shane McAnally)

Sassy. Aggressive. Vengeful. And not at all ashamed of it. And that's exactly why many of us fell in love with Miranda Lambert in the first place, right? “If you like living with your mama/And drinking Milwaukee's Best on a used couch/You'll like how it all works out/Because it all works out for me.”

9. “I hate love songs”
(Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, Jon Randall)

In a way, this book can be read as a prequel to the aforementioned “Down.” In this wistful, heartbreaking novel, she admits that she fell in love “once” and it “ruined her life.” And while she doesn't sound overly angry yet, she deeply regrets it: “There’s no proof/How the story ends/Sometimes it’s meant to be/It wasn’t you and me.”

10. “No Man’s Land”
(Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick)

Another cautionary song, this one is more of a gentle ballad than a grim threat. But the message remains the same: Some women may not be worth loving. But they're just too good to resist. It's hard not to think of Gail Garnett's “We'll Sing in the Sunshine” as Miranda warns: “You can hold her forever/But she’s still/No man’s land/So love her like a mustang/Like a wild animal/Better let her run free.”

11. “Bitch On The Sauce (Just Drunk)”
(Miranda Lambert, Jaren Johnston)

Need I say much more than to announce the title and confirm that Miranda is indeed brutally honest and unashamedly aggressive as she contemplates yet another, what she knows to be a poor life decision? Many women – and men – will listen to this song and experience a not-so-pleasant shock of realization. Forget “Need You Now.” More like “I want you now, and to hell with the consequences.” “This porch looks like heaven/But I know it'll feel more like hell in the morning/But I'm driving up anyway/'Cause the good Lord knows this girl can't help it/Yeah, a heart's a bitch when it comes to gravy, so I might as well do it.”

12. “Far too good at breaking my heart”
(Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Jesse Frasure, Jenee Fleenor)

Think of it as a direct sequel to “Bitch on the Sauce,” sung to a more insistent backbeat. She knows what she's doing is self-destructively wrong—but she's going to damn well do it. And once again, plenty of people listening will feel seen. “I know I shouldn't, but you look pretty good in the dark/I know how this starts/Damn, I wish I didn't, but you're/ Way too good at breaking my heart.”

14. “Life on the run”
(David Allen Coe, Jimmy L. Howard)

And now something completely different: Miranda Lambert takes on David Allen Cole's role in “Living on the Run” – an excerpt from his 1976 album Long-haired redneck – and can't bring herself to change the lyrics to another gender. And just like John Cash appropriated the song “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails, she takes it to heart and makes it her own. Of course, it helps that with a few changes to the lyrics she turns a “murder song” into… well, a Miranda Lambert song. “A woman wanted more than a man could steal/From the bottom of the decks where I learned to deal/It ain't easy living on the run/Women love outlaws, so they say/I'll ​​be an outlaw 'til I die/It ain't easy living on the run.”

Listen to the full album below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries