Country supergroup the Highwomen finally decided to release their self-titled debut album in full. The group, which consists of Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby, have decided to release singles for their project since mid-July when they revealed the video for their debut single “Redesigning Women.”
After that, they’ve followed the release with a couple more recent singles titled “Crowded Table” and “High women.”
The partnership grew in an attempt to level the playing field in country radio, which still continues to be overwhelmingly dominated by men. “Inequality largely restricts merit-based success,” Carlile told Rolling Stone in the buildup to Girls Just Wanna Weekend, the all-female festival lineup she curated the previous.
“Until equality is there amongst all, then the people who are getting excluded from the spots don’t get an opportunity to rightfully earn those merits.”
Apart from songwriting and performance duties from the group’s four-member, the album also consists of numerous contributions from a few of the biggest names in the country such as Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell, Miranda Lambert, Lori McKenna, Tim, and Phil Hanseroth among others across its 12 tracks.
The group made their live debut at this year’s Newport Folk Festival, where they also showcased a surprise set with country legend Dolly Parton. They later brought their performance to the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where they had “Redesigning Women” played for the show’s studio audience.
Feminist, slightly even communal, and maybe unapologetic, it’s very much about present times. But in celebrating something that is more often than not ignored as taboo, it’s also a classic superstar move.
Four voices aren’t necessarily stronger than one, and the collegiate style of the record has one yearning for a little more single-mindedness. But anyone who enjoyed, say, Margo Price’s All American Made will find a lot to enjoy here.
