I haven't been much of a "fan" of current music artists for a long time. By fan, I mean being REALLY REALLY INTO particular artists like I was back in the 80s and 90s. (Madonna and Garth Brooks come to mind.)

The one exception to that is Miranda Lambert. Except for "Somethin' Bad," which I feel is an overblown shouting mess, I've liked all her hit songs. She also has some wonderful album cuts, like "Mama I'm Alright" and "Same Ol' You," and some of her best work with the Pistol Annies. Her latest album, Platinum, isn't perfect, but I feel that's mostly due to having too many damn songs on it. I liked it much better when albums had 10-12 songs and less filler. But, whatever. It's still some of the best country I've heard in a while and there are a lot of strong songs.

I've written about "Automatic" several times here, as it's one of the most relatable songs I've ever heard. I love it. "Somethin' Bad" was a major disappointment, as I enjoy both Miranda and Carrie separately, but not together. It's not really a surprise that it comes off as two big voices trying to outsing each other, even if they weren't. And now there's a third single, "Little Red Wagon."

Okay. My second-favorite cut on Platinum is "Hard Staying Sober."

"Why you think the world drinks?
Why you think the world smokes?
Why you think we all sit around and tell a bunch of dirty jokes?

Somebody somewhere is out having a ball
And somebody’s laying around heartbroke
Why you think we all drink
Why you think we all smoke"

It's fantastic, seriously. It should be a country classic. So I was pretty disappointed it wasn't the third single and hope it will still be released, cause it deserves a mass audience.

That said, Little Red Wagon has grown on me. It's a very in-your-face kind of song, like Somethin' Bad, and I think something a bit lower-key between the two might have been a better choice. But it's pretty hard to fault the energy of this song. Miranda is obviously having a blast, and it's infectious.



Miranda is at Full Miranda in this song (Miranda Level 10?), and it comes across as refreshing because of the arrangement and instrumentation. I mean, "Miranda being sassy!" isn't exactly something new. But this is. It's also a song that requires multiple listens to get into I think, because when I first heard it I was like... "huh?" But I get it now. Its raw energy, and instrumentation that's kinda messy yet tight and restrained enough to not be too out of hand, reminds me of garage rock. So I'm calling it "garage country."

One thing that stood out to me on first listen: the riff reminds me of this.



And that's not a bad thing. In a time of a lot of barely-there music, "Little Red Wagon" has plenty of there-ness. Butplease, release "Hard Staying Sober" next. It's just the best.