Unstable breakups. New friends at the bar. Drunken hookups. These are just some of the trials and tribulations Miranda Lambert takes listeners through in her new album, “Postcards from Texas.” After breaking through with her 2005 album “Kerosene,” the Texas-born, Nashville resident secures her place within the country zeitgeist by consistently surprising the scene.
Playful misadventures crop up throughout the 14 tracks on the album, where Lambert is often put in situations that leave cops and lovers chasing her while she drives. The album’s opening song, “Armadillo,” has a familiar sound but tells a strange story about an armadillo that hops in Lambert’s car with a pistol on his hip. Lambert notices the cops are following them in pursuit and accelerates to get to the county line.
Ever since proclaiming “His fist is big but my gun’s bigger” on her 2007 hit “Gunpowder & Lead,” a handful of volatile, thrilling country-rock numbers have made their way onto Lambert’s records, often showcasing her drawl and talent for turning whispered rumors into dramatic material. When compared to the more energetic tunes across her discography, her swaying, low-key ballads can fall by the wayside, even if songs like 2016’s “Vice” remain among her best. Mellow, up-tempo numbers tend to let familiar chord progressions take over, and a backing band of Nashville regulars punch up country clichés. Lambert sounds at home in every song on this album and beyond.
Lambert’s penchant for rip-roaring rhythm is best exemplified on her lead single “Wranglers,” a number where the interplay between acoustic and electric guitar creates a smoky, tense ambiance.“Wranglers” is one of the few songs on the album written without Lambert, a possible explanation for why it lacks her typical detail-oriented lyricism around romantic estrangement. There’s also the extraordinary “Bitch On The Sauce (Just Drunk),” which takes the momentum of a mandolin-laden verse and parlays it into a satisfying chord progression during the chorus. With a double-time guitar solo, joyfully regrettable energy and the fabulous mic drop of “Are we in love or we just drunk?,” “Bitch On The Sauce (Just Drunk)” might be the best song on “Postcards from Texas.”
The album loses momentum when Lambert settles into ballads. With beachy acoustic guitars and brush drumming, the long-lost love narrative of “Santa Fe” is sweet but slow. Country-pop up-and-comer Parker McCollum duets with her in what seems to be an attempt to energize the listener, but his lukewarm delivery makes “Santa Fe” seem like a dreary destination. A duet about looking back on an affair deserves more chemistry. The same effect drags down “Looking Back on Luckenbach,” a disappointment considering co-writer Natalie Hemby has nailed breezy, pedal steel songs like this in the past.
Another solid album in a career full of them, “Postcards from Texas” continues Lambert’s post-pandemic streak of productivity. The album comes full circle with the final track “Living On The Run,” with lyrics that detail Lambert driving away over a honky-tonk groove — right back where “Armadillo” started things.
Contact Ethan Beck at [email protected].