Album Review: The Chicks Torch Through “The Gaslighter”
It has been 14 years since the Dixie Chicks released an album. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! Talk abut a trio whose music always feels relevant and timeless. I could listen to “I’m Not Ready To Make Nice” in 2008 and still feel it is pertinent in 2088. Why? Because The Chicks, as they are now known, are 100% original and emotionally connected to what it means to be bold and good. Thus, The Gaslighter is their continued sonic blaze into what it takes to face injustice and heartbreak head-on.
Whether it is standing up for human rights, “March March” or confronting the broken pieces of a crumbling marriage,”Gaslighter” and “Tights On My Boat.” The Chicks’ new album is both raw and relatable because it really is about gaslighting. We live in a world that will tell you if, “It is you versus the world then it is you that is wrong. After all, how could “the world” or so many people be wrong?” While I get the quote and agree is can be right, I think the past few years/ history has shown us the world can be wrong, and The Chicks have certainly faced a wrong world. From husbands to politicians, these musical sisters are facing off with the powerful men that made them believe they were wrong or crazy for calling out their male counterparts’ wrongfulness and insanity.
The Chicks – Gaslighter (Official Video)
Standing up for a better world does not, necessarily, mean your home is in tact and that you are 2 steps away from sainthood. On the contrary, it is in having a broken heart that you can either learn how to mend it or break others. This is the lyrical/ spiritual battle that pervades in every track of The Gaslighter, and allows Natalie Maines distinct voice to soar and burn through the puns and prowess of her verses. Vocally, she knows how to tell a story and fill it with jabbed details and jagged sentiments on what it is to be a strong person in a weakening situation. Coupled with the heavenly, stringed arrangements of Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire. The Gaslighter is an album that beacons with light for those wondering how to overcome darkness. But The Chicks The Gaslighter Here.
The Chicks – Sleep at Night (Official Video)
