With “Sunset Marquis,” Miranda Lambert proves she’s 100 percent committed to the country-disco vibe she’s been teasing on her new Crisco album.
This isn’t going to be album with one or two groovy beats, a disco ball on the cover and 11 pretty vanilla attempts.
In fact, a close exploration of the song’s lyrics and her vibe shows she had a little help finding that sweet spot where the two genres meet. Lambert’s done the research and timed her effort perfectly.
- Find “Sunset Marquis” on Lambert’s new Crisco album, available Oct. 2.
- It’s the follow up to the title-track and “Till the Going’s Gone,” a more country-centered rambler.
- Last year she released the disco-flavored “A Song To Sing” with Chris Stapleton, which proved to be something of a canary in the coal mine for her.
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Lambert’s friends Little Big Town have been playing with disco for over a decade. Their under-appreciated Wanderlust EP from 2016 vibed on this big city sound (and several others) a little bit, but a 2022 song called “All Summer” is a more overt attempt.
Bestie Ashley Monroe (who co-wrote “Sunset Marquis”) has also lived in this space with albums that push her further and further away from country’s center.
Lambert’s approach recalls the two to four hits everyone knows, not the fringe artists and songs that lived on the rim of the genre. What really makes the music sing is how effortless it all is for her. How can a woman with that kind of Texas twang sound so West Hollywood?
In fairness, the disco movement is more closely associated with New York City, but L.A. clubs like the Factory were a scene. If Google Maps is correct, this venue was about a mile from the Sunset Marquis hotel, which was very much the inspiration for this song.
“Every time I’m there,” Lambert says, “you never know who you’re going to run into or what kind of memories you’re going to make. It has this timeless energy that feels like stepping into another era.”
Lambert says the song’s writers tried to put listeners into that famous space, which is good because at $500 to $1,000 a night it’s not likely most of her fans will be able to really live there for more than an hour.
Miranda Lambert, “Sunset Marquis” Lyrics:
The air’s kinda heavy like it’s wanting to rain / A good enough reason for drinking champagne / How do you feel about taking a ride.
Chorus:
I know a place / Where time stands still / Out in California / Where the stars come out / And the music’s loud / Be anything you wanna be / We can take all night / Till it hits just right / Baby, you won’t wanna leave / So, slip away with me / Sunset Marquis.
Palm trees and jasmine, all your cares to the wind / Wake up in the mornin’, do it over again / What are your plans for tomorrow night.
Repeat Chorus
Repeat Chorus
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