Pistol Annies‘ new album, Interstate Gospel, arrives on Nov. 2, and the group has been treating fans to several songs from the upcoming record ahead of its release. The latest of those is “Masterpiece,” an emotional ballad discussing a relationship in the spotlight.
The track finds trio member Miranda Lambert taking the lead, her soaring voice comparing a relationship to a painting that was displayed for all to see.
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“Who’s brave enough to take us down / Who’s fool enough to lose the crown?” she sings in the chorus. “Maybe another thing they’ll all forget about / They’ll be standing around laughing / Like nothing ever happened.”
While the band hasn’t confirmed anything, it’s a safe guess that “Masterpiece” was at least partially inspired by Lambert’s relationship with Blake Shelton, which was extremely public. “Masterpiece” reflects on such a relationship, wondering whether such a public union and the accompanying scrutiny was enough to warrant staying together.
The mournful ballad gives Lambert a chance to show off her vocal chops while bandmates Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley provide haunting backing vocals throughout.
Like all of the Annies’ songs, “Masterpiece” was written by Lambert, Monroe and Presley.
“Masterpiece” is a stark contrast from the group’s previously released split-related song, “Got My Name Changed Back,” a rollicking ride with Lambert taking the lead again as she sings about changing her name back after a relationship.
“That song is fun,” she told Storme Warren on SiriusXM’s The Highway of the song. “Between us, we’ve had two ex-husbands and there’s two husbands — it’s making light of some heavy stuff.”
“Divorce is a big deal — going through life is not easy sometimes,” Lambert added. “The hardest things, you can wallow in it or you can laugh it off and move along, and that’s kind of what we’ve done on this record, and this song in particular.”
Along with those two tracks, Pistol Annies have also shared “Sugar Daddy,” “Stop Drop and Roll One,” “Interstate Gospel” and “Best Years of My Life” from Interstate Gospel.
“Between the three of us, we have so many journeys that we’ve been on, and we all travel for a living,” the Annies said, via The Fader. “Interstate Gospel literally captures the emotional journey, as well as the journey of traveling on the road. When Angaleena came with the title, it just felt right, because it felt like what we were doing was preaching the truth.”
Interstate Gospel will follow the Annies’ previous two releases — 2011’s Hell on Heels and 2013’s Annie Up. The group will also perform at the 2018 CMA Awards in Nashville on Nov. 14.
Photo Credit: Getty / John Shearer
