Concluding my ranking of the songs from Miranda Lambert’s new album Palomino…

#3. ‘Scenes’

Opening track ‘Actin’ Up’ was released early, so Palomino‘s second song was my first new taste of the album, and I was instantly smitten. ‘Scenes’ sets up the record’s theme beautifully, painting a picture of a woman escaping her problems by hitting the road and “moving right along to the next scene.” Its sexy groove is one of the dominant sounds of Palomino.

#2. ‘Tourist’

More shades of Dolly Parton on this track, the first one written for Palomino. ‘Tourist’ finds Lambert returning to one of the most prevalent themes in her discography, the restlessness of a small town girl who longs to see the world. She’s writing this song 17 years into a career that has let her do exactly that, but she still manages to locate the aching sincerity in somebody who vows to never be “a number on a population sign.”

#1. ‘Waxahachie’

‘Waxahachie’ is the third Palomino track to first appear on The Marfa Tapes in stripped-down fashion. It was my favorite song on that album, and it takes the prize on this one as well, in its more robust form. This track is the opposite of ‘Tourist,’ giving us a woman heading back home after finding heartache elsewhere. I love how Lambert personifies Waxahachie, turning the Texas town into a welcoming shoulder to cry on.

That does it for Palomino, for this week anyway. Another great album from a woman who seems incapable of releasing anything but.