PIsTOL ANNIEs Interstate gospel
Nashville’s foremost all-girl supergroup hit the comeback trail in style
AFTER two albums together, Pistol Annies’ decision to take an indefinite break in 2014 might easily have signalled the end for the trio. Miranda Lambert was busy with a superstar solo career, Ashley Monroe was gaining traction as an artistic and commercial force, while Angaleena Presley was readying highly singular debut American Middle Class. Save for a track on a Don Williams tribute LP, they seemed intent on following separate paths.
The arrival of Interstate Gospel, however, proves that Pistol Annies were unfinished business. In their own words, they wanted it to sound “like three women came unleashed and told a bunch of truth”. Cue some free-kicking rockers with a country twang – “Stop Drop And Roll One”; the title track’s rich Southern groove; the hopped-up “Got My Name Changed Back” – but it’s mostly a bittersweet album of poignant reflection, healthy cynicism and no little regret, centred around matters both familial and romantic. A key song is “Masterpiece”, in which Lambert counts the emotional fallout from a broken relationship, perhaps her failed marriage to fellow country star Blake Shelton or her more recent liaison with singer Anderson East. “Baby, we were just a rodeo/ Shining up our buckles for the show,” she sings in rueful tones, addressing the nature of being part of a celebrity couple. As Monroe and Presley offer sensitive backing, Lambert concludes with, “I tried to stand by my man/We were making plans.” It’s enough to strip some of the bravado from “Got My Name Changed Back”, which takes a more offhand view of the divorce process.
The Annies’ gift for artful third-person narratives is much in evidence too. “Best Years Of My Life” details a woman in crisis, turning to painkillers, cocktails and shit TV when life loses its lustre. By contrast, the protagonist of “Cheyenne” covers her sadness by ditching one pool hall cowboy for the next, her heart as cold as the beer in her hand. It’s keenly observed and beautifully realised, which goes for most everything on Interstate Gospel.