"Four the Record" definitely contained some sassy numbers ("Mama's Broken Heart," "Fastest Girl in Town"), but it also contained the heartbreaking "Over You," which she wrote with ex-husband Blake Shelton.
On "Platinum," we began to see how self-aware Lambert is of her celebrity status and of her role as a mentor to younger artists. She muses about aging ("Gravity's a Bitch,") about teen pregnancy ("Babies Making Babies,") about staying in a lasting celebrity marriage ("Priscilla,") and about the good ol' days growing up, when life was a little less hectic ("Automatic").
Here, on her sixth studio album "The Weight of These Wings," we find a woman who endured a very public heartbreak at the pinnacle of her career. We find a woman who was broken and who has dragged herself back into the light after what surely were some of her darkest days. We find a woman who, to borrow a phrase from Lin-Manuel Miranda, wrote her way out--and gave us a double album in the process.
The lead single, "Vice," should tell you enough--it's told from the perspective of a woman who is drinking, sleeping, and driving her way through her own personal hell. That theme continues, with hazy musings about living a vagabond life and spending too much time at bars, as the woman behind it all re-learns who she is and what she wants out of life.
In the buildup for the album, Lambert hasn't said much. There were no big sit-down interviews about who wronged who in her past relationship. Her Instagram is full of dog photos and musings about making music. She could have gone the old route, burning old bridges with glee and stopping to think about it later. But she's older now, and perhaps the temper has tempered--or perhaps she just doesn't think it's worth the effort to confront her demons with fire and steel.
"The Weight of These Wings" doesn't contain any collaborations with big names. It's a mostly subdued epic, a tour de force from someone who will be remembered as one of country music's greatest. It's raw and it's heavy at times, and you hear it in the way Lambert's voice breaks and soars over 24 tracks. It feels familiar to those of us who have ever been heartbroken. It feels like a smoky bar and a taxi and a morning sipping coffee on your front porch before the sun is up. It feels like waking up after a night wrestling with demons--unsure how you're going to move forward, but determined to do so however you can.
In the buildup for the album, Lambert hasn't said much. There were no big sit-down interviews about who wronged who in her past relationship. Her Instagram is full of dog photos and musings about making music. She could have gone the old route, burning old bridges with glee and stopping to think about it later. But she's older now, and perhaps the temper has tempered--or perhaps she just doesn't think it's worth the effort to confront her demons with fire and steel.
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| (Photo: Daniela Federici via MirandaLambert.com) |
"The Weight of These Wings" doesn't contain any collaborations with big names. It's a mostly subdued epic, a tour de force from someone who will be remembered as one of country music's greatest. It's raw and it's heavy at times, and you hear it in the way Lambert's voice breaks and soars over 24 tracks. It feels familiar to those of us who have ever been heartbroken. It feels like a smoky bar and a taxi and a morning sipping coffee on your front porch before the sun is up. It feels like waking up after a night wrestling with demons--unsure how you're going to move forward, but determined to do so however you can.
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