The Background- The sound that Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood cooked up while hanging at the Nashville-area home of Charles’ brother throughout the summer of 2006 is a unique blend that mingles classic country, 1960s R&B soulfulness and the heart-on-the-sleeve openness of 1970s singer-songwriters, all presented with a razor-sharp contemporary edge. It’s a sound that had Lady Antebellum, as the threesome dubbed itself, generating deafening buzz as one of modern country’s brightest hopes even before the release of their latest album.
The Review-
I really like Lady Antebellum. Their debut album was one of my favorite ten of 2008 and they put on a terrific live show. Outside of Little Big Town, their XX XY XX chromosomial harmonies are unique and rich with harmony. It was with great anticipation then that I received their sophomore effort- particularly after the emotive and angst-filled title track that was first shipped to radio. Surely, with their newfound popularity, exposure to many more songwriting partners, more life experience, inspiration from Kelley’s marriage and more juice at the label, they’d be able to stretch their artistic wings on album number two, right? Unfortunately, in an effort to reach the most amount of people, they’ve created an album that’s fairly devoid of personality. Take radio release number two, “American Honey,” for instance. While sonically pretty, what does it mean? Who does it apply to? And that’s the challenge I have from keeping this album from being rated more superiorly. While the songs list the three members as songwriters on most of the tracks, I don’t see them personally revealing themselves through the music. If country music is a storytellers art form, Lady Antebellum is accomplishing it by telling other’s generic stories, just not their own. It’s safe. It’s radio-friendly. What it’s not is revealing. The group is best on the before-mentioned title track, “Hello World”- a big ballad backed with orchestra strings- and “If I Knew Then”- a beautiful melancholy ballad that’s both introspective AND radio-friendly. Like her or hate her, Taylor Swift has proven that songs written from a personal perspective can be hugely successful at retail. Hopefully, we’ll hear more of Lady Antebellum’s rich harmonies AND their personal stories on album number three.
Sounds Like-
Little Big Town Singing Rascal Flatts
Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
Need You Now
Hello World
If I Knew Then
The Verdict:
Three Stars Out Of Five
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