Everything We Know About the Pistol Annies’ Third Album, ‘Interstate Gospel’
It's been five years since the Pistol Annies have offered up new music to their devoted fans, but at long last, the wait is coming to an end. Well, soon it is, anyway.
The country trio, made up of Miranda Lambert, Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe, were teasing a new project for months, dropping hints about writing sessions and making onstage appearances together. While we wait with bated breath for the new record's release, here's what's known about the Pistol Annies' third studio album thus far.
The Title
The Pistol Annies' new album will be titled Interstate Gospel. Prior to revealing the news on Sept. 27, the group released a 45-song playlist on both Spotify and Apple Music, featuring songs from their work as a trio as well as each Annie's solo discography, with the same title Interstate Gospel.
The Release Date
Interstate Gospel is due out on Nov. 2. In a late-July 2018 interview with The Boot, Presley said that the project was ready to go: "We just finished our third record. Two weeks ago [as of July 23]," she shared; for her part, Lambert told Time that the trio is aiming for a Fall 2018 release date.
Then, on Sept. 21, the Pistol Annies posted a video of postcards falling into a United States Postal Service Box to their Twitter account, explaining that they had just sent out a collection of postcards to fans across the country that contained hints about the new album. "If you got a postcard, share a picture using #PistolAnniesAreBack," the caption continues. "And everyone else check out that hashtag, so y'all can put together some important info about our new music."
Together, the postcards not only seemed to reveal a track list and selected lyrics from the forthcoming album, but also, many speculated, pointed to that release date of Nov. 2. The numbers "112" appeared as a road sign stamped on the back of the cards.
The Album Cover
The Pistol Annies' Interstate Gospel cover features the three women, dressed in shades of green and brown, standing in a forest. Presley, Lambert and Monroe are holding hands and looking up to the sky; their trio's name and the album's title appear above them.
The Producers
There's no news on this front just yet. For both 2011's Hell on Heels and 2013's Annie Up, the trio worked with producer Frank Liddell. Chuck Ainlay and Glenn Worf also helped produce Hell on Heels.
The Single
No word on a single just yet; however, on Sept. 27, the Pistol Annies dropped three new tracks at once: "Interstate Gospel," "Got My Name Changed Back" and "Best Years of My Life." All three were sent to country radio programmers.
The Songs
Monroe says fans can be prepared for some great stuff.
"We've written some of my favorite songs I've ever written in my life," Monroe told The Boot in April. Adds Lambert to Time, "Something about being together makes us a force to be reckoned with. We can get more raw and rugged than we would alone ... I think it’s the best writing we’ve ever done. We’ve lived a lot of life since our last record. I think it’s three girls telling our story very bravely."
During their #PistolAnniesAreBack campaign, a series of postcards mailed out to fans pieced together a track list of 14 songs. See below for the track list. A press release reports that Lambert, Monroe and Presley co-wrote all of the songs except for "This Too Shall Pass;" that one was written by Monroe and Presley.
Pistol Annies, Interstate Gospel Track List:
1. "Interstate Prelude"
2. "Stop, Drop and Roll One"
3. "Best Years of My Life"
4. "Five Acres of Turnips"
5. "When I Was His Wife"
6. "Cheyenne"
7. "Got My Name Changed Back"
8. "Sugar Daddy"
9. "Leaver's Lullaby"
10. "Milkman"
11. "Commissary"
12. "Masterpiece"
13. "Interstate Gospel"
14. "This Too Shall Pass"
The Tour
The Pistol Annies will celebrate Interstate Gospel by embarking on a mini-tour this fall. Lambert, Monroe and Presley will perform at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on Oct. 25. They'll then head to New York City for a Nov. 2 stop at the Town Hall, and then to Los Angeles for a show at the Novo on Nov. 7. Tickets for all three shows will go on sale on Oct. 5.
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