The Dixie Chicks haven’t exactly made a secret of the fact that they’ve been in the studio working on their first album in 13 years, as photographs have popped up on their social media accounts for months portraying the group at work. But official announcements have not been forthcoming. Now, via Instagram — and with the comically creepy (or creepily comedic) use of a Snapchat filter — they’ve made one.
Using a “baby” app that makes them look pre-adolescent and sound helium-voiced, Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire appear in succession to declare: “Dixie Chicks!”… “album!”… “coming!”
Lest anyone think the blessed event is imminent, the camera then pans to producer/writer Jack Antonoff, who solemnly deadpans: “…someday.”
A timetable for the album release remains as uncertain, publicly, at least, as the video’s mixed message suggests. A source had previously indicated to Variety that a 2020 release for the Chicks’ studio comeback was more likely than this year. So whether this “announcement” represents a bump up in the timeline or the emphasis should be on Antonoff’s comic buzz-kill of a punchline remains to be seen. Their use of the #dcx2019 hashtag has led some fans to believe an album will be out this year, but then, the #dcx2018 tag came and went with no new music.
Photos of the group in the studio first appeared on Maines’ account in June of last year, so they are truly taking the long way, to quote the title of their previous album. A lot of fans thought winning the triple crown of Grammys for album, record and song of the year should have counted as discouragement from retiring as a recording unit, not a license to quit… and better late than never, the group came to agree.
Maines is an enthusiastic adopter of the baby app, by the way: Earlier in June, she used it to post a video of herself with the caption, “I’m a baby!… with an old lady arm.”
Source : Variety
