Last year, singer and fiddle player Amanda Shires unveiled a project she'd been plotting since 2016: the Highwomen, her country supergroup with Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby. This year, the Texas native is thinking about letting fans in on her creative process, releasing songs as she finishes them, rather than waiting to complete her next solo album.
"I like the idea of having a living record as you go," says Shires, who dropped the swirling, indie-rock-influenced single "Deciphering Dreams" last week. "Sometimes you write songs that don't all fit together. What do you, just throw them away? This might be a chance for growth and learning. It could be a horrible fall-on-your-face kind of experiment. But you know, I can always stop at any point."
Anyone who has been following Shires' career in recent years knows that kind of failure is unlikely. The 37-year-old has hit career-high marks of late, beginning with 2018's eclectic "To the Sunset," in which she experimented with filtering her fiddle through an effects pedal, adding a new texture that complemented the quivery vibrato of her voice.
In September, the Highwomen, which she formed as a response to the lack of female representation on mainstream country radio, released its self-titled debut album. Produced by Dave Cobb, who encouraged Shires to approach Carlile about the project, the record has a classic country sound, with all four women trading lead vocals and harmonising on songs that are comedic, poignant and celebratory.
"Any room we can make for women - the ripple effect - has been really positive," Shires says of the Highwomen. "We're making steps in the right direction."
