The Chicks on 'Easy Silence'

Martie: We didn't set out to write a lot of love songs, but we're all probably in the best place we've ever been with our mates.

Natalie: There's also a bit of political commentary in there, from my point of view. I had to get a lot of other things off my chest before I could be nice and sentimental. Even when we tried to write a sweet song, there was always a little dig at somebody.

Martie: One of the challenges for me was that the songs we were writing weren't necessarily calling for the traditional kind of fiddling that I am used to doing on our records. The orchestrated approach really pushed me to dig back into my training and remember how to play and write with those sensibilities. Rick really encouraged me to think differently in this respect and not feel limited.