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Folk & singer-songwriter

The Weight of These Wings

Miranda Lambert · 2016

This is country music that refuses to comfort you — and that’s why it sticks.

Worth your time?4.5/5Yes.Hear the whole thing.What works, what does not, who it is for ↓
10:07in productionCh. 1 · Rollout/ 10:07 · ceiling 15 min
4 chapters · 10:07Ceiling 15:00

The brief is written and checked. The video joins this page when it is cut.4 chapters · 1 min read · 10:07 planned

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The Weight of These Wings is Miranda Lambert’s sixth studio album, released November 18, 2016, via RCA Records Nashville. It consists of two discs titled The Nerve and The Heart. The album was written and recorded over a year, with contributions from songwriter Luke Dick and producers Frank Liddell, Eric Masse, and Glenn Worf. Its content reflects Lambert's divorce from Blake Shelton and subsequent relationship with Anderson East. The album received widespread critical acclaim and won Album of the Year at the 2017 ACM Awards. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA in July 2017. Singles included 'Vice', 'We Should Be Friends', 'Tin Man', and 'Keeper of the Flame'. The Highway Vagabond Tour supported the album, marking Lambert's first solo European tour dates. Critical reception highlighted its non–country-pop production and demand for close listening, earning an 81/100 Metacritic score and five-star reviews from AllMusic. The album was later ranked

Folk & singer-songwriterGriefResilienceSongwritingGrief across the network →
Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 1:14
    Rollout

    It arrived after a deliberate silence — 'Vice' dropped in July 2016, the album announced in September, released in November.

  2. 2:44
    Production

    All 24 tracks share the same producers — no stylistic pivots, just deep consistency across two discs.

  3. 4:21
    Songwriting

    'Highway Vagabond' is built around one line found at a deli — and sounds like country Siouxsie and the Banshees.

  4. 5:51
    Aftermath

    It went Platinum, then launched a tour — Lambert’s first live shows after vocal rest and a cancelled tour.

1 more chapterFewer chapters
Running order24
  1. 01
    Runnin’ Just in Case4:33
  2. 02
    Highway Vagabond3:53
  3. 03
    Ugly Lights3:01
  4. 04
    You Wouldn’t Know Me3:19
  5. 05
    We Should Be Friends2:50
  6. 06
    Pink Sunglasses4:06
  7. 07
    Getaway Driver3:53

    Heard in Dirty Harry (1971)

  8. 08
    Vice4:00

    Heard in The Hunger Games (2012)

  9. 09
    Smoking Jacket4:54
  10. 10
    Pushin’ Time3:33
  11. 11
    Covered Wagon4:08

    Heard in The Last Drop of Water (1911)Fighting Blood (1911)The Painted Stallion (1937)

  12. 12
    Use My Heart3:50
  13. 01
    Tin Man4:19
  14. 02
    Good Ol’ Days3:18
  15. 03
    Things That Break3:47
  16. 04
    For the Birds3:46

    Heard in The Birds (1963)Rio 2 (2014)

  17. 05
    Well‐Rested4:39

    Heard in Original Cast Album: Company (1970)

  18. 06
    Tomboy4:01
  19. 07
    To Learn Her3:47
  20. 08
    Keeper of the Flame3:59
  21. 09
    Bad Boy4:40
  22. 10
    Six Degrees of Separation3:09

    Heard in Across the Universe (2007)

  23. 11
    Dear Old Sun4:56
  24. 12
    I’ve Got Wheels3:40

Film placements are the ones described in each film's own entry, so the list is partial rather than complete.

Worth your time?

Yes. Hear the whole thing.

4.5/ 5
What works
  • emotional-terrain
  • vulnerability
  • authenticity
  • production-consistency
What does not
  • country-pop
  • radio-ready
  • linear-breakup-narrative
Hear it if
  • people-who-want-country-music-that-resists-genre-shorthand
Skip it if
  • people-who-expect-radio-ready-hooks-or-linear-breakup-narratives
Who should hear it, and who should skipHide who it is for
The written brief1 min read

What the record is and where it came from

It is Miranda Lambert’s sixth studio album. It was released on November 18, 2016, via RCA Records Nashville. It was written and recorded over a year, following her first international performances in March 2016 and preceding the Highway Vagabond Tour launch in January 2017.

How it sounds, and how it was made

It sounds like country Siouxsie and the Banshees on ‘Highway Vagabond’. All tracks were produced by Frank Liddell, Eric Masse, and Glenn Worf. The album was written and recorded over a year. Luke Dick co-wrote ‘Highway Vagabond’ and contributed as a musician.

What lands

The weight of personal transformation lands. ‘Vice’, ‘Tin Man’, and ‘Keeper of the Flame’ land as singles. The ‘country Siouxsie and the Banshees’ production of ‘Highway Vagabond’ lands as a sonic signature.

What does not

It does not hide behind mainstream polish. It avoids country-pop production. It does not offer easy catharsis — its demand for close listening rules out passive consumption.

The ideas inside it

It maps emotional terrain from turmoil to renewal. Its title and dual-disc structure — The Nerve and The Heart — reflect vulnerability and resilience. Its themes stem from Lambert’s divorce from Blake Shelton and subsequent relationship with Anderson East.

Who should hear it, and who should not

People who want country music that resists genre shorthand should hear it. People who expect radio-ready hooks or linear breakup narratives should not.

Is it worth your time

Yes. It is certified Platinum by the RIAA and won Album of the Year at the 2017 ACM Awards. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

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