Last year, the great country star Miranda Lambert took a couple of left turns. First, she released The Marfa Tapes, a strange and lo-fi album that she recorded with songwriting collaborators Jack Ingram and Jon Randall. On that LP, Lambert intentionally kept everything ramshackle, recording outdoors with acoustic guitars, all first takes and no overdubs, wind and background noise intruding on everything. For someone who makes sharp, clean mass-consumption music, this was a big departure. Lambert also got together with her side-project supergroup Pistol Annies to release the Christmas album Hell Of A Holiday, and she came out with a few assorted tracks here and there. Today, Lambert announces that she’s coming back this spring with Palomino, her first proper studio album since the 2019 banger Wildcard.

Lambert co-produced Palomino with Luke Dick and Marfa Tapes collaborator Jon Randall, and she co-wrote most of the songs with Dick and Highwomen member Natalie Hemby. The album features “If I Was A Cowboy,” a single that Lambert released last year, and a new version of the Marfa Tapes standouts “In His Arms,” “Geraldene,” and “Waxahachie.” There’s also a cover of Mick Jagger’s 1993 solo song “Wandering Spirit.” And most intriguingly, Lambert teams up with the B-52’s on a new track called “Music City Queen.” A press release describes that song as a “funky Deee-Lite meets Creedence Clearwater Revival trip down the Cumberland River.” I can’t wait to hear that.

Lambert’s also got a new single today. “Strange” is a bluesy ramble about treating yourself right in an uncertain moment: “Do anything to keep you sane/ ‘Cause times like these make me feel strange.” In the video, Lambert wanders through the desert. Check out the “Strange” clip and check out the Palomino tracklist below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Actin’ Up”
02 “Scenes”
03 “In His Arms”
04 “Geraldene”
05 “Tourist”
06 “Music City Queen” (Feat. The B-52’s)
07 “Strange”
08 “Wandering Spirit”
09 “I’ll Be Lovin’ You”
10 “That’s What Makes The Jukebox Play”
11 “Country Money”
12 “If I Was A Cowboy”
13 “Waxahachie”
14 “Pursuit Of Happiness”
15 “Carousel”

Palomino is out 4/29 on Sony Music Nashville.