Miranda LambertKerosene

Fiery country-rock with a chip on its shoulder and a match in its hand. 'Me and Charlie Talking' unspools dark, hushed narrative; 'Bring Me Down' kicks in assertive and anthemic, guitars snarling; the title track burns slow then bursts into pure defiance. Lambert wrote nearly all of it herself, and you can hear the nerve in every line. Rawer and more aggressive than anything else Nashville was making. Her debut, and she came swinging. Play it.