The Highwomen

"Amanda Shires came up with the idea for the Highwomen as she listened to country radio while touring America in support of her 2016 album My Piece of Land. State after state, she heard a lack of women on station after station, so she devised the notion of creating a supergroup that would address this problem directly ... The message, which is implicit nearly as often as it's explicit, may be at the forefront of The Highwomen, but the record's resonance lies in its deep emotions and sense of craft. The craft isn't incidental, either. Their shared skills as writers and singers provide the supporting evidence to Shires' conceptual thesis: if country radio doesn't want to play music this good, what's the point of radio anyway?".

Read review

"On a dozen songs that transcend stereotypes of women in country music, this supergroup explores love, politics, and family ... The Highwaymen have often been called country's best supergroup, but the Highwomen are better. They do here what the men never could-stretch the notions of what country can and must become".

Read review

"Supergroup-style collaborations are often hit and miss affairs. A lot of the time, a group that sounds like a dream project on paper ends up being disappointing in practice. This is not one of those times. While The Highwomen may not quite live up to its individual members best work, the group and their various collaborators and guest stars all bring strong songs and enthusiasm to the project. They're having a lot of fun, but the specifically feminist bent of the group's outlook helps focus the album as well. The Highwomen is worth a listen for any fans of these artists individually or as a sampler for all of them".

Read review

"Den kvindelige supergruppe The Highwomen lægger hårdt ud. De fire countrykvinders debutalbum åbner med en skarp replik til de gamle highwaymen, der (...) fortalte om den arbejdende mand i forskellige afskygninger ... Nu er det de i grunden meget forskellige Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Amanda Shires og Maren Morris' tur til at gå sammen og fortælle om stolte og stærke kvinder ... »We are The Highwomen/Singing stories still untold«. Fra det forrygende anslag omskriver de den kvindelige rolle i både country og amerikansk historie ... der er ikke bare tale om et tiltrængt los i løgene på Nashvilles patriarkat, men også en musikalsk superheltindepræstation, der kommer lige så vidt og vildt omkring i countryens mange koder. Og knækker dem".

Read review