Amanda Shires 'Take It Like A Man' Album Review

A violinist since childhood, Amanda Shires began her career five feet from stardom. The Nashville singer-songwriter’s newest album Take It Like a Man is an artistic power-play, a way for Shires to claim space in the male-dominated country music industry. Produced by LA-based, indie-folk musician Lawrence Rothman and written by Shires herself, Take It Like a Man pushes the boundaries of what country music can be and finds deeply personal ways to talk about the complexities of gender that affect us all–in a historically conservative genre, no less.

Her artistic journey began in Texas, where she grew up, learned how to fiddle, and joined the Texas Playboys–the former backing band for Western swing legend Bob Wills–when she was 15. In 2004, she moved to Nashville and put out her first solo album, Being Brave. Since then she’s released six more solo albums (including Take It Like a Man) and co-founded country supergroup The Highwomen with Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile, and Natalie Hemby. She’s also since married into playing with her husband Jason Isbell’s band the 400 Unit.

As her career has grown, so has her subversion of the Americana genre, not just in her collaborations, but through her solo work. Fans herald her as a punk kind of country artist because of her progressive songwriting, as well as her voice, which has evolved over the course of her albums into a unique blend of both rockabilly glam and Americana.

Two years ago, Shires released “The Problem," a deeply moving duet she wrote and recorded with Isbell about her own abortion. Although the track isn't new, Shires’ complete artistic backstory is important to understand because it preludes where she is now. With the release of her seventh album, Shires still seems intent on riding this wave of “what’s the worst that could happen?”. In fact, Take It Like a Man might be her biggest “Fuck it” yet.

“Take It Like a Man” is a wistful torch song rooted in Gypsy jazz and her own experiences. The song feels personal but in an empowering way. Tired of being told to change herself or to accept love on someone else’s terms, Shires skewers the phrase “take it like a man” and on the final line belts out that she’ll “take it like Amanda." Shires’ vocals sail over the melody with a haunted lilt and emphasize the emotion attached to the words. Her lyrics vacillate between abstract and literal, an impressive feat, once again proving her unparalleled capabilities as a songwriter.

Because of the album’s confessional nature, no one will mistake Take It Like a Man for one of those commercially attractive, country music packages. Its objectives have nothing to do with checking popularity boxes or making singular hits, even with mainstream star and fellow Highwoman Maren Morris attached. She sings on the track“Empty Cups," but the song still feels authentic and true to the album’s narrative, going to a dark place where commitment is assured but the continuation of passion isn’t. “You used to lean in like I was whispering / Any excuse to get near again,” she sings. “I still miss the way you lean in / What happened between now and then?” The pain is visceral because of Shires’ and Morris’ granulating harmonies and the subject matter, which describes a narrator on unstable ground with a partner.

That’s not to say every song on the record is sad. “Here He Comes” is a sexier track that suggests the power of knowing exactly what (and who) you want. The deliciously steamy opening number, “Hawk for the Dove” puts Shires herself in the driver's seat sexually as she sings along to an unrelenting drum beat with lines, “Come on put pressure on me I won't break / I want you in all the worst ways” and “I’m coming for you like a hawk for the dove.” It’s a slow burner. It’s also one of the few times she busts out her fiddle for a solo. She plays it ferociously like she’s trying to break the strings. It’s amazing; however, due to her history of fiddle playing, there aren't nearly enough fiddle moments on Take It Like a Man.

The house band, however, provides a great foundation for Shires’ Dolly Parton-esque voice to soar. The piano, strings, and guitar (played by Isbell) are meant to bring listeners back to Shires’ classic country roots, while she picks and chooses her moments to add that famous free-spirited, punk-rock bite into the mix. It can be found in her fiddle solos, the deliberate scrape of her voice in certain places, the album’s orchestration, and the lyrics.

Nothing off-limits when it comes to the penmanship on the LP. She talks shamelessly and openly about her marriage, her sexuality, her work, her hardships, her relationships, her dreams: it’s all there.

That’s the exquisite rub of listening to Shires’ record. In all this vulnerability, there is also strength. Shires goes where very few artists–male or female–dare to go, embracing the danger and emotional nakedness that making a great record requires. Take It Like a Man goes beyond proving that she’s tough. Rather, it boldly reaffirms what many already suspected: Amanda Shires is the future of country.

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