I would expect around four songs to come out before the whole album is released - that seems a pretty widespread tactic, especially in the age of digital streaming. Also, Miranda has not been a particularly singles-focused artist - her plan with TWOTW was to let as many songs as possible receive the public focus in turn, regardless of whether they were released as radio singles. It wouldn't surprise me if she followed a similar plan this time (note, for example, her decision to highlight a performance of "Locomotive" at the CMA Fest, even though it wasn't the song currently being promoted to radio)
This song was written by Miranda with Natalie Hemby (who has been her most frequent collaborator) and Luke Dick (a more recent collaborator, who was involved in some interesting tracks on her last album).
According to Miranda herself, this is expected to be seen as a big departure in her work:
"#MessWithMyHead is a departure from anything I’ve done. It has a real rock edge. Part of it comes from my cowriters,@LukeDick&@NatalieHemby, and part of it comes from spending time in NYC. Being there has put a new energy into my music/writing."
For me, the most interesting part of the new song is the musical line, which uses touches of steel guitar and banjo themes to complement Rock guitars, making for an interesting progression, which is both contemporary, with echoes of Roots homage. But when we come to the vocal, the track sounds more Pop than Rock to me (though I have to admit, that "Rock" - like "Country" itself - means different things to different people). I think it is the extensive repetition in the lyric, the half-spoken, mechanical build up to the rhymes in some of the lines, and the background chorus voices that make me think more of Pop styles.
Also, I have rather mixed feelings about the "big departure" aspect. Miranda has always been a musical "outlier", not a trend chaser, but an individualist, drawing sympathetically on a very broad musical palette. As I see it, there were certainly more experimental, and more boldly innovative album cuts in her earlier work (recently, for example, "Two Rings Shy" on "Platinum", and "Vice" on TWOTW. By contrast, parts of this new song come much closer to following the current trend for more Pop influence - different for Miranda, but not all that different for the genre. And, on first reaction I find that a little disappointing in an artist of her individuality.
From what I've seen, though, there has been a pretty positive reaction on Twitter, so this may serve her well in re-establishing a wider public approval.
