She didn't win Nashville star in 2003, but Miranda Lambert is certainly the ultimate victor in this situation. Her not taking first prize freed her from expectation, no longer required to prove that the show is a vehicle for success. In the wake of her loss, she created "Kerosene", a sunny, polished country album that was unabashed in its portrayal of Lambert as a survivor, someone unaffected by rejection or abuse. She expands on this blueprint in her second album, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend", and it certainly lives up to that title. When Lambert is not threatening to pull the trigger on her abusive boyfriend in "Gunpowder and Lead", she's stalking her no good ex and his girlfriend in the excellent title track. Both songs match their cynical lyricism with gritty, deep-throated guitars and drum sets, bridging the gap between country and mainstream rock better than anyone else in 2007. And those aren't the only highlights here: "Down" is a pessimistic mid-tempo about unable to control the urge to break a few hearts in the quest for love, and "Dry Town", as cliched as it might be for a country song, is a roots-rock adaptation of wanting alcohol in a town in the middle of nowhere. Oddly enough, this doesn't play as red-neck as it reads, and neither does this record. "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" is a showcase of Lambert's deft songwriting skills as well as a eleven-track artifact that crystallizes her sound, which is unlike any other country artist in the 2000s. She makes drinking seem like a necessity, guns essential, attitude a requirement and all the while delivering these themes over anything but honky-tonk grooves. Check out "More Like Her", a straightforward ballad that wrings emotion from its simplicity and Miranda's unflinchingly real delivery, or "Guilty in Here", which is country in form but pop in feel. Every song here is a success in some territory, either in its classically strucutred hooks or the strong on-record persona of Lambert. If there's a ballad too many here, it's not entirely dissatisfying. If the tough-girl schtick seems genuine in the rock songs but a facade in the ballads, resistance to accept it is futile. You simply can't argue with music this good, especially when it reaches out to an audience beyond the strict country market without ever sounding like she's breaking convention. Her tight melodies and impeccable eye for lyrical and sonic detail weave mass emotion into these songs, resulting in an album that doesn't sound like country, pop, or rock, but rather, the signature of an artist already redefining what it means to be a country artist. "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" is the perfect album to suit the bill.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Gunpowder and Lead 2. Dry Town 3. Famous in a Small Town
4. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 5. Love Letters 6. Desperation
7. More like Her 8. Down 9. Guilty in Here
10. Getting Ready 11. Easy from Now On
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