The Weight of These Wings
by Miranda Lambert
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Nov 18, 2016
    91
    There’s something pleasingly organic, though, in Weight’s cohesiveness; it asks for patience and rewards it, weaving true tales of regret and resilience into one fiercely honest, gloriously flawed whole. Bless this mess.
  2. PopMatters
    Dec 7, 2016
    80
    Unflinchingly honest, emotionally resonant and deeply personal.
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Nov 18, 2016
    80
    Produced by Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf and Eric Masse, the music deepens that unsettled feeling with arrangements that feel raw--sometimes even incomplete--by current country standards. ... Yet none of this is the product of indifference or fuzzy thinking.
  5. AllMusic
    Nov 18, 2016
    80
    The Weight of These Wings isn't produced like a country-pop album, so it demands attention and rewards close listening. It is by no means tight, but its excess is also its asset because immersion reveals different pleasures with every spin.
  6. The Guardian
    Nov 17, 2016
    80
    The Weight of These Wings has 24 beautifully crafted songs, and not a melody or word is wasted.
  7. Boston Globe
    Nov 17, 2016
    80
    The Weight of These Wings matches the take-no-prisoners attitude of her lyrics with music that travels unexpected routes but often winds up touching the soul.
  8. Rolling Stone
    Nov 17, 2016
    80
    The Nashville star's most ambitious LP, a range-y two-disc set ditching country's mainstream playbook for the sort of Great Album rock acts used to spit out regularly back in the day.
  9. Pitchfork
    Dec 6, 2016
    78
    While Wings is hardly a showcase for any kind of vocal gymnastics, Lambert’s voice remains the star throughout.
  10. Magnet
    Dec 15, 2016
    75
    Weight is the inexorable comedown: a graceful and timely maturation that might just take a little editing to come through clearly. [No. 138, p.56]
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  11. Exclaim
    Nov 17, 2016
    70
    There are a few clunkers here. ... But these are minor complaints, and there's a masterpiece of a divorce album hidden in here.

Awards & Rankings

60
#60 Most Discussed Album of 2016
41
#41 Most Shared Album of 2016

User Reviews

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User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 68 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 68
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 68
  3. Negative: 15 out of 68
  1. noahmanning14
    Nov 22, 2016
    10
    For me this is my favorite album of the year and also the best of the year. Her vocal performance on the album is amazing and beautiful. IFor me this is my favorite album of the year and also the best of the year. Her vocal performance on the album is amazing and beautiful. I also loved how open and personal she was on this album especially on Pushin' Time, Vice, Tin Man, and We Should be Friends which are also my favorite song of the album. So that's why I love the album so much and feel it's the best of the year.… Full Review »
  2. nickhaner
    Nov 18, 2016
    10
    This album makes you feel all the feels. Stemming from Miranda's background, It's exactly what we were expecting. Every song is placedThis album makes you feel all the feels. Stemming from Miranda's background, It's exactly what we were expecting. Every song is placed perfect. Fill with love and hate. It beautiful, twangy, pretty, and **** A+!… Full Review »
  3. TillyChapman
    Nov 18, 2016
    9
    One of the reigning queens of country music returns with this double album titled The Weight Of These Wings. Packaged with beautiful artwork,One of the reigning queens of country music returns with this double album titled The Weight Of These Wings. Packaged with beautiful artwork, and introduced with the amazing lead single Vice, it's safe to say my expectations were very high.

    The first half titled The Nerve, is possibly Miranda's strongest work to date. Yes, it features the typical country chic songs she's become well known for, such as Pink Sunglasses which rivals songs like Little Red Wagon and Platinum on her previous record, and whilst they're delightfully filled to the brim with the tongue in cheek personality we've all come to adore, they're the least eventful songs on this first half. Runnin' Just In Case, Highway Vagabond, Getaway Driver, Pushin' Time, and of course Vice all shine like stars among tracks that are so very close to being up there with them.

    The second half titled The Heart falls slightly flatter unfortunately, but still isn't without some stars of it's own. Tin Man - an open letter to the fictional character in The Wizard Of Oz - finds Miranda telling him why having a heart isn't so great, Keeper Of The Flame glistens with it's imagery filled lyrics and Six Degrees Of Separation offers up something slightly different from any other song in this 24 track collection. However, the more traditional country sound that The Heart brings to the table just isn't for me as much as the first part, at least not on my first few listens.

    As a whole though it's lyrically clever - Use My Heart closes The Nerve by saying that she doesn't 'have the nerve' to use her heart. While Tin Man opens The Heart by singing about how having a heart isn't all it's cracked up to be - and the 24 songs have been placed exactly in the order they ought to be listened to on the tracklisting. It's a story, an event, and a damn good record. Yes, maybe she should have condensed the better tracks into one incredibly solid album but it wouldn't have felt quite as special. This may very well be the album that defines her career, and if it was, it would be a great thing for her.    … Full Review »
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