Miranda Lambert‘s Postcards from Texas album is out. The 14-track project is Lambert’s ninth studio record, and her first on a new label, Republic Records, after leaving Sony Music Nashville, where she had been for 20 years.
“This record, because I have had so much full circle happen lately, with turning 40 and a new record label, and I felt new freedom,” Lambert says on Apple Music Country’s Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen. “And with that freedom, all I wanted to do was go home to reset so I could get strong to take on a whole new journey. And so I think this record is a snapshot of more like two decades versus the last two years… There’s emotions that I’ve felt for the last two decades as a woman, as an artist in this album.”
Lambert’s debut Kerosene album came out in 2005. In the almost two decades since then, Lambert has been unafraid to release bold, brazen songs, a trajectory she credits to her fans, many of whom have been with her since the very beginning of her career.
“I mean, the fans are the reason that have stuck it out from ‘Kerosene,’ and now they’re bringing their daughters to my shows and they’re 16,” Lambert reflects. “And they’re like, ‘We grew up on your music.’ But that encouragement helped me keep telling the truth, and helped me not be afraid. Whatever the story I was telling, it was their story too. And it’s like, ‘Okay, I’m going to keep doing that then.’ Because you’re validating, ‘I’m not in this alone and neither are you. Let’s do it together.'”
The Texan can’t take all of the credit for some of the songs on Postcards from Texas, which she recorded in Austin, Texas, especially the raw and honest ones. Lambert chose to show off a different side of her than she might have been willing to in the past, thanks in large part to the influence and inspiration of her husband, Brendan McLoughlin, whom she wed in 2019.
“Brendan was there the whole time,” Lambert explains. “He was a part of the process. He loves it. He’s just so in it… He loves music in general and he loves the process, and he has been now part of three albums. He just loves it because it’s been with three different teams of production and musicians, and so he’s just intrigued by the whole thing. It gets boring and then he goes to play golf, but he came to Austin with me and was there for a lot of it.
“He was the one that was pushing for the ones that I was a little on the fence about,” she adds, “as far as vulnerable and raw… Like, ‘Run,’ for example. He was like, ‘You have to cut that song.'”
Lambert has been announced as the recipient of the Country Icon Award at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards. The ceremony will air live on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 8:00 PM ET on NBC and Peacock, from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
Lambert currently has a Top 40 hit with “Wranglers” from Postcards from Texas. See a track list below. Find the record, and all of Lambert’s music and upcoming shows, at MirandaLambert.com.
Postcards from Texas Track List:
1. Armadillo (Aaron Raitiere, Jon Decious, Park Twomey)
2. Dammit Randy (Miranda Lambert, Brendan McLoughlin, Jon Randall)
3. Looking Back on Luckenbach (Miranda Lambert, Shane McAnally, Natalie Hemby)
4. Santa Fe feat. Parker McCollum (Miranda Lambert, Jesse Frasure, Jessie Jo Dillon, Dean Dillon)
5. January Heart (Brent Cobb, Neil Medley)
6. Wranglers (Audra Mae, Evan McKeever, Ryan Carpenter)
7. Run (Miranda Lambert)
8. Alimony (Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby, Shane McAnally)
9. I Hate Love Songs (Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, Jon Randall)
10. No Man’s Land (Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick)
11. Bitch On The Sauce (Miranda Lambert, Jaren Johnston)
12. Way Too Good At Breaking My Heart (Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Jesse Frasure, Jenee Fleenor)
13. Wildfire (Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, Jon Randall)
14. Living On The Run (David Allen Coe, Jimmy L. Howard)