"Gaslighter" by The Chicks is replete with emotions, a place where vulnerability signals strength
- MySweeterPlace
- 15 de set. de 2020
- 3 min de leitura
Atualizado: há 2 dias
The Chicks: "Gaslighter"
Released: July 17, 2020
Label: Columbia Records
Genre: Country
Producers:
The Chicks, Jack Antonoff, and Teddy Geiger
Writers:
Ariel Rechtshaid, Ben Abraham, Charlotte Lawrence, Dan Wilson, Emily Strayer, Ian Kirkpatrick, Jack Antonoff, Joe Spagur, Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, Ross Golan, Sarah Aarons, St. Vincent, Teddy Geiger, and W. Darling
"Gaslighter" is The Chicks' first studio album release in nearly 15 years and its most pop-sounding record to date. It arrives after the acclaimed 2006's "Taking the Long Way," a dark album inspired by the country band's topple after Maines' criticism of Bush and the Iraq War. This time, the conflict is coming from inside the house: Much of "Gaslighter" focuses on Natalie Maines' divorce from her longtime husband, Adrian Pasdar. The resulting record is heartfelt, ornate in its production yet fiercely honest. Jack Antonoff is the band's main collaborator and a pack of other industry hitmakers like Julia Michaels, Teddy Geiger, and Ian Kirkpatrick.
The term "gaslighting" has been used to describe emotional manipulation designed to make someone doubt their memory or perception. In this context, "Gaslighter" refers to Natalie Maines' ex-husband, and it's also the name of the first single of the record, the shadiest bop. "Gaslighter, I'm your mirror/Standin' right here until you can see how you broke me/ Yeah, I'm broken/You're still sorry, and there's still no apology."
Many of the content on the album is notably precise. "My husband's girlfriend's husband just called me up/How messed up is that?" she sings with a laugh on "Sleep at Night," then stops herself short, remembering that her two boys are trying to grow up during the chaos. "But then I think about our two boys trying to become men/There's nothing funny about that."
No surprise that the standouts on the record are when you can hear all three Chicks working in harmony, literally and figuratively like on "Texas Man.", mostly when they sing, "I'm a little bit unraveled."
On "Everybody Loves You," Maines lays bare that whiplash confusion and anguish. "It's my body, and it hates you/Why does everybody love you?" she asks, confused. The track was written by American singer-songwriter Charlotte Lawrence. She shared on Instagram that she wrote this song in February 2018. "I immediately knew back then how much this song meant to me, how much I needed to write it, how it would become and stay my favorite song I have ever made. (…) I am so, so honored and taken back that you choose this song to cover on your incredible album(…)".
"For Her" delivers the album's ultimate declaration: "Wish I could go back / And tell my younger self / You're a fighter / You just don't know it yet.", while "March March" is entirely and unapologetically political.
"My Best Friend's Weddings," plural intended, depicts Maguire's first and second weddings. Watching Maguire "never looking more happy", Maines concludes, "guess from ashes we can really grow."
"Tights on My Boat" is harsh, shouting the tax lines toward Maines' ex. "Hey, will your dad pay your taxes now that I'm done?". It's also a real juvenile, through some lyrics and production. "You can tell that girl that she can have you right now."
"Julianna Calm Down" has similar content to "Young Man." The first one addresses younger people in the singers' lives. Integrating names of family members and bandmates' children, the singer gives young women advice on keeping their heads up amidst break-ups and collapses. "Young Man" is a beautiful and melodic love letter to Maines' sons, who are coming of age amid a disastrous divorce. She speaks on the difficulty of a young man finding his way into adulthood as he sees his father for who he is.
"Hope It's Something Good" takes on a sad and pop quality, where Maines talks about the end of his marriage, this time, leaving out the insults. "If you're gone/ I hope it's really worth it/ Twenty years of hanging on/ Now it all adds up to nothin'/ When you gave up on the moon and back/ Thought you'd found your better half/ I hope she's something good."
On the album's closing emotional "Set Me Free," Maines implores her ex-husband to honor their time together by setting her free.
"Gaslighter" brings a new take on the country sound.
Favorite Lyrics on the album: Editor's Pick
"I hope you die peacefully in your sleep/ Just kidding, I hope it hurts like you hurt me" (Tights On My Boat)
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