NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� 10th studio album begins with a plucky honky-tonk stomper, full of folksy imagery and a jaunty vibraslap sound:
鈥淲ell I met an armadillo / Out in Amarillo / And he asked me for a light,鈥� Lambert's voice swings, 鈥淚 said a where ya goin鈥� / He said 鈥業 don鈥檛 really know鈥� / And I said, 鈥楤rother I鈥檝e been there twice.鈥欌��
It might be an outlier, for listeners expecting a collection more in line with the album's lead single, the classic rock-channeling 鈥淲ranglers,鈥� but it's also the perfect tone-setter. Across the 14-track release, Lambert aims to deliver sometimes-traditional country with a lot of heart.
Throughout, 鈥淧ostcards From Texas鈥� is a sonic road trip 鈥� from the steel guitar-led ballad 鈥淟ooking Back on Luckenbach" to the funny, trash-talking divorce anthem 鈥淎limony,鈥� with its not-so-thinly veiled lyrical geography.
鈥淚 called that lawyer up in Dallas,鈥� she sings in the chorus. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e gonna leave me in San Antone / Remember the alimony,鈥� the last word teased out to turn 鈥淎lamo鈥� into 鈥渁limony.鈥� It's such a rewarding lyric reversal, it feels almost prototypical 鈥� as if plucked from some great country music songbook instead of written into it.
Lambert's voice is where 鈥淧ostcards From Texas鈥� finds its cohesion, from dreamy ballads, like 鈥淲ay Too Good At Breaking My Heart" and country-rock swagger, like on 鈥淏鈥斺�� On the Sauce (Just Drunk)鈥� to classic covers, like in the case of 鈥淟iving on the Run,鈥� from 1976 album, 鈥淟onghaired Redneck.鈥�
Lambert co-produced the album with Jon Randall, and recorded the entirety of it at Austin, Texas' Arlyn Studios, the first time since she was 18 that she's recorded a full album in her home state. In those days, long before becoming a stalwart of Nashville's Music Row, it's easy to imagine she wasn't thinking about a homecoming 鈥� especially in a state where those considered are overwhelmingly male.
At this stage in her career, Lambert doesn't have anything to prove 鈥� and that's one of many reasons why 鈥淧ostcards from Texas" is a ride that works.
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
