Miranda Lambert on Upcoming ‘Wildcard’ Album: ‘It Was a Scary Change’

Miranda Lambert is getting ready to release her seventh Wildcard album later this year, which paired her up for the first time with rock producer, Jay Joyce. Lambert, who previously used Frank Liddell for her albums, admits the switch was a bit daunting for her.

“It was a scary change,” Lambert told The Morning Call. “I kind of gave him the reins and just said, ‘Push me. Push me out of my comfort zone.’ And he did. He kind of found the initial kind of getting back to me, what I wanted to do. But then he also was able push me. So I’m really proud of it and proud of working with someone new.”

Lambert’s previous record, The Weight of These Wings, was written when Lambert was experiencing heartache and challenges, all of which she shared on the double-disc project.

“That album was perfect for the time in my life,” said the singer. “That needed to be, that album. It had a lot of a journey on it – for the last … since 2015, really. … I’m always pretty honest in my music, so when people ask me what’s been going on, I’m like, ‘Well, you can hear it all.”

“When you get through things in life and you’re a songwriter, the news is you can use it as therapy and write about it,” she continued. “And hopefully it’s other peoples’ story, too. But you can’t live in that moment, and I think [the new] record has taken me from that phase to a new phase.”

Lambert has moved on from The Weight of These Wings, in every way, which is why she is so eager to share Wildcard with her loyal fans.

“I was actually just excited. I was ready to make new music,” Lambert said. “I was ready to have more fun and kind of get back out there on the road, ’cause I took some time off. I feel like, if I had to choose a word that would describe making this record, it was just ‘excitement.’”

The Texas native has already released her debut single, “It All Comes Out in the Wash,” as well as three more tracks: “Bluebird,” “Locomotive” and “Mess With My Head.” It was while listening to her own music, with her early hit, “Kerosene” following “Mess With My Head,” that she realized she wasn’t traveling as far from her roots as she initially imagined.

“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness! I’ve always had a rock edge,’” Lambert recalled. “It’s just I don’t really think I had that on the last record, and so it sounds, like, really fresh to everybody coming from me. But you kind of look back; I’ve always had a little bit of a rock ‘n’ roll vibe in some of the songs.”

Still, diehard country music fans need not fear – Lambert has no plans of switching genres, with Wildcard or any of her other future records.

“[Wildcard has] some stone-cold country songs,’” promised Lambert. “I’ll never get away from country music because it’s, like, my core and what I love the most,” she says. “So I think there’s something for everybody on here. It’s like 52 minutes of music that, hopefully, will speak to your life.”

Wildcard will be available on Nov. 1. Pre-order the album at MirandaLambert.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images / Tim Mosenfelder