A six-year-old Mary Lambert bows to her audience, completing another concert for the crowd of Beanie Babies that sat before her in her bedroom. Back then, these performances gave her the outlet she needed in order to escape from her troubled childhood. Little did she know that what she began back then would not only help her cope with what was going on in her life, but also help thousands of others do the same in the future. On October 14, 2014, Lambert released her first studio album, “Heart On My Sleeve.”
Prior to “Heart On My Sleeve,” Lambert released an EP titled “letters don’t talk,” which features the poignant lyrics of the track “I Know Girls (Body Love.)” She also teamed up with Hip-Hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to produce “Same Love,” which quickly rose to the top of the charts and won Lambert a performance alongside the duo, Madonna and Queen Latifah at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
Lambert keeps the emotional lyrics coming in this album, each song not only showcasing her passionate lyrics, but also her pure talent. Some of the songs have a more upbeat feel, like the title track “Heart On My Sleeve,” while some feel much more somber, like “Ribcage,” in which Lambert shows her darker side. The album also showcases Lambert’s talent of slam poetry, “Sum of Our Parts,” which features her effortless vocals intertwined with spoken word in the middle and an entire track of spoken word entitled “Dear One.”
My personal favorite from this album would be a catchy number titled “So Far Away.” In this song, Lambert describes what she feels whenever she misses someone. But, my all-time favorite of Mary Lambert’s will always be “I Know Girls (Body Love),” because of its unforgettable and raw lyrics.
Overall, Mary Lambert has an effortless talent that should not go unnoticed by anyone. All of her songs are worth a listen, but her lyrics have that special quality that really takes the cake.
