Miranda Lambert Hints at ‘Stone Cold Country’ Record After ‘Wildcard’ Release

Miranda Lambert is one day away from the release of her highly-anticipated new Wildcard album, but she is already thinking about projects in the future. While her next set of tunes has everything from the traditional sounding “Tequila Does,” to the rocking “Mess With My Head,” and the pensive “Bluebird,” the Texas native hints she might do a pure country record in the future.

“I bought it back to straight down the middle Miranda Lambert,” Lambert told the New York Times of Wildcard. “People want the humor, the sarcasm, something not too musically out there. And I get that. But would I love to just go off and make a stone cold country record? Hell, yes. Maybe I will. You have to grow as an artist. I can’t sing ‘Mama’s Broken Heart’ when I’m 80 years old. That’d be weird.”

The 35-year-old has already said Wildcard is a happier record than her previous The Weight of These Wings. While her emotions don’t always dictate the songs she writes, she does acknowledge that her songs are an honest reflection of where she is in life.

“I’m transparent to a fault, sometimes — I write from my experience and the people around me,” Lambert said. “But I want to be one of those songwriters who can write amazing stories, like ‘Desperados Waiting for a Train.’ Or John Prine.

“My goal is to get better at writing amazing stories that aren’t my own,” she added. “But I’ve got to live more life and I’ve got to try way harder.”

In fact, it was Guy Clark’s “Desperados Waiting for a Train” that first hinted Lambert might have a career in country music, long before she was able to articulate that feeling for herself.

“The first song that ever made me cry was ‘Desperados Waiting for a Train,’” Lambert recalled. “I was 10. My dad was singing it, and at the time, I didn’t understand why I was crying. I knew it brought out something in me. So all of that, combined with seeing what my parents did for a job [as private investigators], definitely — I was pulling from that early on.”

Lambert didn’t hold anything back on the songs on Wildcard, including her ability to poke fun at herself from time to time.

“I started out of the gate with this feisty, fiery personality,” Lambert told USA Today. “In ‘Gunpowder & Lead,’ I was ready to kill this guy for abusing this girl, but now I’m too pretty for prison so I’d just hire somebody to do that … I also feel like I’m more willing to make fun of myself and not take myself so seriously. I live and breathe country music, but I also don’t get wrapped up in every little thing. I’m just having fun with it.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Jeff Kravitz