The Dixie Chicks just dropped their new single, “Gaslighter,” marking their first release as a trio since 2007, with “The Neighbor,” which failed to chart. “Gaslighter” is the title track of an upcoming new album, marking their return to country music after a long, and often disappointing, separation.
“Well, we’re definitely out of practice,” band member Emily Strayer (formerly Robison) told Zane Lowe on Apple Music. “It’s just as painful as it was to do all the artwork. We check our own typeset and we do all of that and so it’s a little bit nerve-wracking.”
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The Dixie Chicks, which also includes Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire, retreated from the spotlight amid backlash after stating in 2003, while overseas, that they were ashamed that the then-president of the United States, George W. Bush, was from their home state of Texas. While the country music community was swift in their outcry to the trio, the band members insist that isn’t the only reason they walked away from the spotlight.
“Well the kids, our nine kids collectively are why we paused for so long,” Maguire maintained. “And, I’m finding out that teenagers are a lot harder than babies. Not any easier.”
“Babies pull you off the road,” Maines added. “Teenagers push you back on … My boys are actually really supportive and really excited for the music and they are fans, they’re not too cool to like their mom’s job.”
The Dixie Chicks’ children definitely influenced their music, with one song on Gaslighter a direct reflection of Strayer’s own family.
“I definitely played it for my kids, and we actually have a song called ‘Julianna Calm Down,’ and that’s my daughter’s name,” Strayer revealed. “She was a little mortified at the beginning. But now every time she gets all worked up, her brothers are like, ‘Julianna, calm down.’ So she’s a little mortified about that but it’s a good start to the song. It is exciting since we’ve been working on it for two years.”
The Dixie Chicks’ just dropped the video for “Gaslighter.” The record will be released on May 1.
Photo Credit: Getty / Christie Goodwin
