Pistol Annies, Annie Up

Pistol Annies

Annie Up

Reviewed by Jane Roser

Several words and phrases come to mind when listening to any song by the Pistol Annies: sassy, feisty, tarty, the devil made me do it. Debuting on the Academy of Country Music’s Girls Night Out: Superstar Women of Country TV special just a few years ago, the Pistol Annies are probably the ballsiest cowgirls in existence, or at least having the most fun at being the Xena warriors of country music.

It almost seems fitting that the Annies, comprised of Miranda Lambert (Lone Star Annie), Ashley Monroe (Hippie Annie) and Angaleena Presley (Hollar Annie), started at a slumber party at Lambert’s house one evening. At 2 AM, Monroe called her friend, Presley, asking her to email over some of her songs. A band was born.

The original band name was The Calamity Janes, which was dropped because it was already owned by a stripper. Their 2011 single “Hell On Heels” topped the all-genre chart on iTunes and then the Billboard country chart. The first time I heard this song was when my friend emailed me the YouTube link and told me that this should be my anthem.

The Annies sophomore album, Annie Up, produced by Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf and Chuck Ainlay, is chock full of ingredients for a honky-tonk casserole. The album sashays through the door on it’s first song “I Feel A Sin Comin’ On”, starting off with finger snapping and a capella vocals, reminiscent of old jazz tunes or Ann-Margret’s “Thirteen Men” with lyrics such as “I know it ain’t mine but I want it so bad. The smoke and the whiskey got me feeling easy.” It then takes off running like a Texas hound dog in heat with biting lyrics, twangy harmonies and wailing electric guitars.

Most of the tunes on this album are about imperfections, dysfunctional families, honest feelings, frustrations and a lot of booze. I counted whiskey, vodka, champagne, beer and Jack Daniels amongst the lot. The only thing missing was hooch and Everclear. “Hush, Hush” was the first single released and has been hitting the airwaves and the TV circuits with a bang. All of the Annies share in songwriting duties, as well as taking turns singing verses. They are always in sync and, although their vocals are definitely distinct, the song lyrics blend so nicely with one another, it’s like reading each chapter of a book slowly, savoring each word until you reach the end and want to start all over again.

“Loved By A Workin’ Man” reminds me a lot of Loretta Lynn’s “You’re Looking At Country”, which isn’t really surprising since the Annies name Ms. Lynn as an idol and mentor, even joining her onstage at the Grand Ole Opry to sing “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” There are a few gloom and doom ballads, as all country albums must have to be worth their weight. “Trading One Heartbreak For Another” reminds me of the time an ex-boyfriend broke up with me the same day my dog died. My brother tried to comfort me by telling me that if I had a pickup truck, I’d be a country-western song. And then “Damn Thing” actually mentions a pickup truck: “Well hearts and pickup trucks break down. Tires go flat and boys come ’round.” This song is a fun time. It makes you want to pull out your red cowboy boots, go country line dancing and live vicariously through the pain and suffering of others. Because telling a man to go to hell and making him do it are two different things. And the Pistol Annies have it all figured out.

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