Pistol Annies began their life with a flurry of activity, releasing two albums in 20 months, which made their announcement of a hiatus months after the release of Annie Up seem all the more sudden. Just when the trio of
Miranda Lambert,
Ashley Monroe, and
Angaleena Presley appeared to hit cruising altitude, they came to a crashing halt, but such quick shifts in speed are not only the thing of life, they're what fuel their 2018 reunion album,
Interstate Gospel. Between Annie Up and
Interstate Gospel, all three Annies encountered some kind of change -- as the group's biggest star,
Lambert saw her personal life splattered across the tabloids, but her bandmates saw their share of upheaval, too -- and those experiences fuel their third album. Skilled songwriters that they are,
Pistol Annies avoid autobiography, preferring to channel their divorce and disappointment, their love and loss, into a set of songs that speak to living with the inevitable compromises and lasting rewards of adulthood. Sadness may be part of this territory, but
Pistol Annies are too witty and steely to wallow in despair. Take "When I Was His Wife," where the pain of divorce is undercut by wry resignation, or "Commissary," whose melancholy undercurrent is tempered by a determination to cut co-dependent ties. Whether it's in their words or music,
Pistol Annies don't follow a straight line, steering the hillbilly rave-up "Got My Name Changed Back" into
Andrews Sisters territory in its coda or threading mariachi horns into the dreamy sway of "Leavers Lullaby." What ties this all together is a sense of adventure and play, an attitude that signals the deep camaraderie between the three Annies while also making their music feel rich and multidimensional; it's clearly the work of three singer/songwriters with strong personalities who share a common sensibility. What makes
Interstate Gospel so invigorating is hearing how
Lambert,
Monroe, and
Presley mesh as both songwriters and singers. Their time apart has only strengthened their bond, resulting in a fully realized and resonant record that is their best to date. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine