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What we thought:
Like it or not, just about every musical genre has its own middle of the road, Nowheresville. A place where the maybe-talented, lucky ones thrive and find an audience by being simply pleasant and inoffensive.
Everyone might have their own idea of what constitutes the middle ground, and for me folk-country group Lady Antebellum are the poster children. With songs so smooth and slick they glide right on by on charming melodies, pleasant hooks and the soulful vocal harmonising between three members Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood.
If anything, Golden, the Nashville, Tennessee outfit's fourth studio album, lacks a certain vocal punch which only made those hooks that much stronger. Sure, they're still tuneful, but do any of these 12 radio-friendly songs make a lasting impression as their big crossover hit "Need You Now" or "Just a Kiss"? Sadly, not even close. There is a distinct lack of inspiration here.
Lyrically, the band remain very limited. Every song is an anguished love song of some sort, a bit of nostalgia here, down-home anecdote there. Only bright spot "Downtown" ("I don't know why you don't take me downtown anymore," implores Hillary) a sprightly party song, is not nearly as scandalous as it suggests. Oh well.
Best track:
"All For Love" – It's an actual rock song, with a riff and everything. In true Lady Antebellum style it threatens to go syrupy at nearly every turn but Hillary Scott sounds great when she lets rip and these guys sorely need to do more of that.
Worst Track:
"Can't Stand The Rain" – The monotonous rhythm of some of these songs gets tiring very quickly and this song is destined to be one of those forgotten 'samey' songs from an album already lacking in variety.
Sounds like:
Lady Antebellum can be credited along with Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and The Band Perry with bringing country music out of the Deep South and into the realm of pop music. And while those artists are prone to experimentation, Lady Antebellum seem stuck on repeat. This collection needed more than just a 'Golden' Instagram filter for its album cover but one that inspired its sound too.
Listen to the songs here:
Like it or not, just about every musical genre has its own middle of the road, Nowheresville. A place where the maybe-talented, lucky ones thrive and find an audience by being simply pleasant and inoffensive.
Everyone might have their own idea of what constitutes the middle ground, and for me folk-country group Lady Antebellum are the poster children. With songs so smooth and slick they glide right on by on charming melodies, pleasant hooks and the soulful vocal harmonising between three members Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood.
If anything, Golden, the Nashville, Tennessee outfit's fourth studio album, lacks a certain vocal punch which only made those hooks that much stronger. Sure, they're still tuneful, but do any of these 12 radio-friendly songs make a lasting impression as their big crossover hit "Need You Now" or "Just a Kiss"? Sadly, not even close. There is a distinct lack of inspiration here.
Lyrically, the band remain very limited. Every song is an anguished love song of some sort, a bit of nostalgia here, down-home anecdote there. Only bright spot "Downtown" ("I don't know why you don't take me downtown anymore," implores Hillary) a sprightly party song, is not nearly as scandalous as it suggests. Oh well.
Best track:
"All For Love" – It's an actual rock song, with a riff and everything. In true Lady Antebellum style it threatens to go syrupy at nearly every turn but Hillary Scott sounds great when she lets rip and these guys sorely need to do more of that.
Worst Track:
"Can't Stand The Rain" – The monotonous rhythm of some of these songs gets tiring very quickly and this song is destined to be one of those forgotten 'samey' songs from an album already lacking in variety.
Sounds like:
Lady Antebellum can be credited along with Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and The Band Perry with bringing country music out of the Deep South and into the realm of pop music. And while those artists are prone to experimentation, Lady Antebellum seem stuck on repeat. This collection needed more than just a 'Golden' Instagram filter for its album cover but one that inspired its sound too.
Listen to the songs here:
