NEW YORK (AP) — Miranda Lambert's 10th studio album begins with a plucky honky-tonk stomper, full of folksy imagery and a jaunty vibraslap sound:
“Well I met an armadillo / Out in Amarillo / And he asked me for a light,” Lambert's voice swings, “I said a where ya goin’ / He said ‘I don’t really know’ / And I said, ‘Brother I’ve been there twice.’”
It might be an outlier, for listeners expecting a collection more in line with the album's lead single, the classic rock-channeling “Wranglers,” but it's also the perfect tone-setter. Across the 14-track release, Lambert aims to deliver sometimes-traditional country with a lot of heart.
Throughout, “Postcards From Texas” is a sonic road trip across Lambert's home state — from the steel guitar-led ballad “Looking Back on Luckenbach" to the funny, trash-talking divorce anthem “Alimony,” with its not-so-thinly veiled lyrical geography.
“I called that lawyer up in Dallas,” she sings in the chorus. “If you’re gonna leave me in San Antone / Remember the alimony,” the last word teased out to turn “Alamo” into “alimony.” It's such a rewarding lyric reversal, it feels almost prototypical — as if plucked from some great country music songbook instead of written into it.
Lambert's voice is where “Postcards From Texas” finds its cohesion, from dreamy ballads, like “Way Too Good At Breaking My Heart" and country-rock swagger, like on “B—— On the Sauce (Just Drunk)” to classic covers, like in the case of “Living on the Run,” from David Allan Coe's 1976 album, “Longhaired Redneck.”
Lambert co-produced the album with Jon Randall, and recorded the entirety of it at Austin, Texas' Arlyn Studios, the first time since she was 18 that she's recorded a full album in her home state. In those days, long before becoming a stalwart of Nashville's Music Row, it's easy to imagine she wasn't thinking about a homecoming — especially in a state where those considered Texas country greats are overwhelmingly male.
At this stage in her career, Lambert doesn't have anything to prove — and that's one of many reasons why “Postcards from Texas" is a ride that works.
Miranda Lambert, left, and Brendan McLoughlin arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
This image released by Republic Records shows "Postcards From Texas" by Miranda Lambert. (Republic Records via AP)
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 3, 2025--
According to the latest report from Omdia’s Large Area Display Production Strategy Tracker, display panel makers maintained a fab utilization above 80% in 1Q25 but are expected to reduce utilization in 2Q25. As the pull-in demand for 1Q25 winds down at the start of 2Q25, set makers are adopting a more conservative approach to panel purchases.
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Uncertainty surrounding the new U.S. tariffs on display application products including TVs, PCs and smartphones, combined with reduced panel orders from brands and OEMs, is prompting panel makers to scale back capacity utilization. Omdia predicts utilization will drop below 80% in April 2025 and further to 76% in May 2025.
Since 4Q24, panel makers have operated fabs at high utilization levels of 81%-83% driven in part by China’s “swap old for new” subsidy program which has boosted demand for LCD TV panels. Chinese TV manufacturers have accelerated production and shipments to the U.S. to mitigate tariff risks, pushing demand higher in early 2025, particularly for 75 inches and larger LCD TV panels.
However, concerns over new potential U.S. tariffs starting in April and uncertainties in display panel demand have led to PC and TV set makers reduce their panel inventory purchases. Some have already reduced their panel orders for 2Q25. In Omdia’s February 2025 outlook, April utilization was expected to be 82% and May at 78%. However, with some China TFT LCD makers planning extended breaks for the May Labor Day holiday utilization could fall further to around 75% in May.
“With demand slowing and uncertainty around tariff impact, panel makers are shifting from their original high capacity utilization mode back to the production-to-order mode,” said David Hsieh, Senior Director for Display research in Omdia. “This strategy should help stabilize panel prices amid weakening demand. . However, since panel prices have remained elevated over the past six months, TV and PC brands and OEMs may push for further price reductions to offset U.S. tariffs.
Hsieh added, “The display market is entering into a new cycle and will likely stabilize later in 2025. Tariffs and their impact on display demand will be the biggest swing factor in this transition.”
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