Miranda Lambert is going back to her roots. The country singer-songwriter was born and raised in Texas, and now she’s emerged from there once again with an album. Lambert announced eighth album The Marfa Tapes, recorded right in Marfa, Texas, with two of her songwriter friends, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall. Both performers in their own right as well, Ingram and Randall previously teamed up with Lambert in Marfa for her heart-wrenching ballad “Tin Man†in 2016 and liquor-soaked love song “Tequila Does†in 2019. As Lambert explained on social media, the three have written 13 more during their Marfa getaways. “Every time I need an escape, I go to Marfa, TX,†she wrote. “@JackIngram and @jonrandallmusic come. We recharge. We get inspired by its beauty. We write songs.†In another post, Lambert added, “They’re raw. You can hear the wind blowing, the cows mooing … We wanted you to feel like you were right there with us, sitting around the campfire, escaping the world, disappearing into the music.â€
The first taste of the project is “In His Arms,†a simple, stripped-back country ballad. Lambert takes lead vocals, longing for a distant love, while Randall picks an acoustic guitar and both men harmonize. It’s a warm performance that sounds like a live take — almost like three friends doing a campfire performance of a country standard. And the trio’s lyrics reference the setting: “Is he praying for rain out in West Texas? / Is he lost in the Marfa lights?†Lambert sings. “Is he out there looking for me / Wishing I was in his arms tonight?†The full album — which credits Lambert, Ingram, and Randall equally — follows on May 7. It features 12 more new songs, including what looks to be a performance of “Amazing Grace,†alongside previous Marfa cuts “Tin Man†and “Tequila Does.â€