Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By The Chicks, Sony Music Australia 2020.
The Chicks, formerly the Dixie Chicks, are the biggest-selling female band ever from the U.S. and probably world-wide.
They’ve sold more than 30.5 million albums, gained 13 Grammy Awards, six Billboard Awards, four American Music Awards and numerous Country Music accolades.
They are among an elite group of acts to have achieved multiple diamond selling (ten million +copies) releases making them one of the biggest and most influential bands of all time.
Gaslighter is their fifth studio album and it was produced by Jack Antonoff who has worked with Taylor Swift, Lorde, Lana Del Rey and many other mega-stars.
So, what’s behind the name change?
The Chicks are keeping a low profile about the change saying only that “we want to meet this moment.”
It wasn’t straight forward because there was already a Kiwi band of the same name.
The superstar Chicks commented “A sincere and heartfelt thanks goes out to The Chicks of New Zealand for their gracious gesture in allowing us to share their name…Chicks Rock!”
The change comes during a period of upheaval and reflection concerning the history of racism in the US and with the Black Lives Matter movement gaining considerable traction in an election year.
And we know from their history The Chicks are activists for social change. They’ve famously had run-ins with Presidents Bush and Trump and this latest album contains lyrical references to climate change and Greta Thunberg, gun violence, underpaid teachers, Black lives matter and police brutality among other important issues.
Gaslighter is the first album the band has released in fourteen years and a lot has happened in that time.
They have become mothers and they’ve looked on as their country has lurched substantially to the right.
For three young mothers, of democratic leaning, who grew up in the American south their country must seem a dangerous place to raise families.
I really like this album. It’s the first one of theirs that I’ve listened to in its entirety and I’m very impressed.
