Revolution

While Miranda Lambert’s first two albums spun tales of kerosene fires, bar fights, and firearmed vengeance, Revolution finds the Texan taking some degree of comfort in her relationship with Blake Shelton, whose influence helps govern the album’s mellow moments. Lambert has never played by anyone’s rules, but she has carved out her own set of principles over the course of a four-year career. Accordingly, Revolution offers a strong, cohesive take on what has quickly become the “Lambert sound”: a blend of lilting ballads and loud, fire-breathing anthems (many of which owe as much to rock as country). She’s also more comfortable with the slower songs this time around, and “Dead Flowers” is perhaps her strongest vocal performance to date.