come anticipate Miranda Lambert's new double album The Weight of These Wings

Indie singer-songwriters would amputate a limb for her humor and vivacity though.

There are indie songwriters I find superior in one way or another but yeah, that's a tough combo to come by, and is especially refreshing with such rich accompaniment.

I would ditch a couple songs here, though, which is an inevitability given the bounty. I'd start with "For the Birds."

idk if i'd cut any songs

the overall weatherbeaten but still glimmering through the layer of dust sound of this thing

also feel like it's her most low-key album since revolution

Still absorbing this record. Doesn't seem as hooky as her previous albums, but it feels like her most personal. Nearly every song was written or co-written by Lambert, with a bunch of co-writes from longtime collaborator Natalie Hemby. Nice to see Liz Rose's name pop up, too.

Agree with Alfred that the "band" has never sounded more integrated. Some interesting choices made with vocal recordings here that I'm still digesting. "Highway Vagabond" reminds me so much of "Fine Tune"--second song on the album, rough and ragged vocal, and the overall swagger of the thing.

"Smoking Jacket" is an early favorite. That line "I want a man who's heart is tragic/ But he makes his magic every night on me"...

what an amazing album this is

for a double album in the era of consumption ADHD which prioritises immediacy so much less than her previous work, this sure didn't take much time for every single song to feel distinct and necessary. in fact length apart it's basically an impeccably fat-free, perfectly edited work!

every single mention of the word "heart" is a bit upsetting

I love the little production touches that support the songs, like the slightly overexposed vocal on "Ugly Lights"

I don't need to hear "Dear Old Sun" and "Tin Man" again. The other OK tracks on the second disc form part of the texture of the thing.

This is the most pleasurable double album I've heard in years.

one time through disc one and "good to excellent" seems about right

"I want a man who's heart is tragic/ But he makes his magic every night on me"...

awful

I think "Use My Heart" is the one that speaks to me most. Love that stray distortion under the first iteration of the title.

my bday gift was the triple LP vinyl of this, listening to this currently as we prep the turkey

what a great album

always been fonder of the vibe of revolution than crazy ex-girlfriend even if it's hard to argue for the former song-by-song so rly glad she's embracing her roadshow sprawl. stuff like "smoking jacket" is gorgeously confident in how far back it lays. and i wasn't a big four the record fan but yeah rly glad she's kept on playing w the great texture of "fine tune".

I don't need to hear "Dear Old Sun" and "Tin Man" again.

not a fan of "dear old sun" as far as i can so far tell but legit like embarrassed by my response to the gimmick of "tin man": it's the song on the album that KILLS me like it was "bathroom sink" only instead of being this ambitious multilayered timelapse epic it's just a formal joke like a stephin merritt tossoff. love technocratic pop writing tho and she sings it terrifically.

the wordless chorus of "tin man" is so gorgeous that i don't mind the lyric

predictably this is a great road trip album

The first half ending with "Use My Heart" and the second half opening with "Tin Man" is a kind of heartbreaking core of the album

Ahhhhhh this album is so good.

I was sure I was going to dislike "Pink Sunglasses' but then that "$9.99" part in the chorus happened.

The first half ending with "Use My Heart" and the second half opening with "Tin Man"

I feel like such a dope for not noticing this

excited to spin this!!

I look forward to listening to this record when it's not on.

i basically love every song on this album except covered wagon

I was listening to it in the shower this morning -- the chorus is a jam imo

all those end of year lists that were compiled before this album came out need a do-over.

always been fonder of the vibe of revolution than crazy ex-girlfriend even if it's hard to argue for the former song-by-song

same here and this definitely feels more like a return to that Revolution vibe

damn 12 years since Kerosene. what other country singers have had that kinda run recently?

After hearing Vice, I wasn't expecting much with this record, but it's really good!

i love vice!!!

I've come around to liking Vice in the context of the album, but at first it sounded uneventful to me.

"Runnin' Just in Case" is fantastic

"Vice" was the first song of hers that I heard and was floored

she has a lot of songs about broken-hearted ppl driving aimlessly on the highways i appreciate that

"vice" floors me now but for some reason didn't as a single

'vice' is a lot better as a kickoff tune than 'automatic' was, though in the context of 'platinum' i came around on the latter a bit more (it's still the single not-great song from that album though)

yeah the weird thing is "vice" also strikes me as the obvious lead single and standout but when it was actually a single i enjoyed it but didn't really cane it like i'm doing now

"Somethin' Bad" is exactly that xpost

🤔 I guess that one too

should have a platinum poll. we're actually getting close to her having enough songs for one of these artist polls or a listen thread

there's nothing wrong with "somethin bad"

Platinum was my favorite album of 2014, and while I won't change my ranking its flaws grate on me more than ever: the dismissal of loose, catty women using loose, catty terms; the facile gestures towards an imagined past of awesome VCRs or something; the neither-here-nor-thereness of "Somethin' Bad." What I love about TWOTW is how she's past this nonsense -- she figured out what she wants to say and whom to hire so she can say it. Maybe the road as controlling metaphor liberated her songwriting.

"neither-here-nor-thereness"?

i mean, it's a flippant song that knows it's throwaway, and you definitely don't get that on the new one...

she figured out what she wants to say and whom to hire so she can say it.

talk about damning with faint praise

WHAT

I don't get that at all

Isn't that one of the reasons everyone loves Beyonce?

Xgau only gives it a B+: https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/country-livin-with-miranda-lambert-margaret-glaspy-and-more-expert-witness-with-robert-christgau

just wanted to link a couple of rly good pieces of writing about this

http://www.mtv.com/news/2957832/miranda-lambert-weight-wings-review/

http://www.vulture.com/2016/11/album-review-miranda-lamberts-wings.html

I love Jewly Hight

I was sure I was going to dislike "Pink Sunglasses' but then that "$9.99" part in the chorus happened.

― Wimmels, Tuesday, December 6, 2016 7:37 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

assuming no abrupt neocommunist revolution before new years, this was the best part of 2016

"It All Comes Out in the Wash" is sorta a lesser variation on "We Should Be Friends," huh?

Wildcard starts out bumpy, but ends really strong...

Related, anyone read the Her Country book?

the only song on Wildcard i’m ambivalent about is “fire escape” because it’s so repetitive it sounds more like a filler song

but otherwise i enjoy Wildcard a great deal,

"Settling Down" is the catchiest song of her career. Jeez, even typing the title got it lodged in my head.

Putting aside the Tex-Mex schtick, something great about "Tequila Does" is how it's, like, a "positive" ode to booze... you know, drink responsibility and all that (and I could never handle tequila myself), but I like the idea of a drinking song that doesn't have a "dark" edge. I'm sure there are many others (esp. in country music), but they're not known to me.

(or at least paying tribute to a particular drink)

the first half of wildcard is def a bit patchy altho “mess with my head” is an incredible song, she should keep writing songs that sound like the cars. it gets better starting with “bluebird” — one of her best singles and which ended up being a crowning achievement for her at this stage in her career — and i’d put the final 4 songs up there w/ pretty much any stretch on any of her albums. i love the way the album slowly descends into darkness from “pretty bitchin” (i love being the subject of gossip!) to “tequila does” (no man feels better than tequila!) to “track record” (i recklessly pursue unhealthy relationships) to “dark bars” (here i am in my happy place, hanging out with degenerate alcoholics)

worth noting that "Bluebird" was her biggest country hit in years

"Life's pretty good if you live it" (from "Pretty Bitchin'") is like one of those all-time great song lines.

i love the first verse or “bluebird” so much… “i turn pages all the time / don’t like where i’m at, 34 was bad / so i just turn 35”

"Strange" has been largely DOA at radio, which has surprised me. Not sure if the recurrent play for "Drunk And I Don't Wanna Go Home" w Elle King (also a great single) is hurting it, but it had an impact date back in July and hasn't yet cracked the t40. Would love to see "Waxahachie" or "Geraldene" get tagged as single, but I also respect her DGAF attitude to such things.

Yeah in my head Wildcard is always just like “White Trash” and “It All Comes Out…” and “Way Too Pretty….” and then I listen to it again and get totally blown away by the last third each time.

"Dark Bars" is scary. It's like not-quite-middle-aged Dylan looking ahead 20 years.

It reminds me of “The Last Time I Saw Richard” and not just because of the setting.

"Track Record" is one of my all time favorite Miranda songs.

And it's totally buried on Wildcard, surrounded by Pretty Bitchin' and Tequila Does and Dark Bars ... just sitting there in the middle being more understated and perfect.

Dark Bars might be my favorite off Wildcard … that chorus gives me goosebumps “I’m not in paaaaaiiin / I’m not on piiiillls”

i love all her songs about bars, dare I say she has a Haggard-esque knack for capturing the sad specifics of booze & loneliness in crowded places & making them still weirdly beautiful

Yep. She covered "Misery and Gin."

yes and "ugly lights"

sorry lol that was in support of what VG said about her bar songs.

Her best album.

Saw she put out a new track with Leon Bridges but haven't listened yet. Also extended her LV residency...toying with the idea of trying to get out there for a night or two...Anyone been or heard any reviews?