Not everybody is a fan of country music. But Lady Antebellum's refreshingly cool, contemporary take on country music mixes in familiar themes with soulful styling, going down smooth for all.
The band skyrocketed to fame, having only formed in 2006, and have already had their famous song, "Need You Now," featured on Glee! They must be a big deal.
Maybe listeners are fascinated by the fact that a trio of country singers could sound this well together. Maybe it is the fact that the band consists of a woman and a man who sing beautiful duets with interlocking verses and harmonies, and another man also sings occasionally.
Whatever the reason, Own the Night (Capitol Nashville), the band's third and newest album, opened at No. 1 on the Billboard chart this week, selling 347,000 copies in the United States in its first week out.
The real issue at hand is that there are too many things that are perfect about this album.
Antebellum's pre-leased single, "Just a Kiss," perfectly encapsulates the excitement and timidity of a new love. The band also released a video with scenes of a young couple backpacking in Europe, featuring Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley's heartfelt singing into the camera or into the window as they ride trains and buses with the couple.
To travel this way in Europe is something that is a deep desire in all of us, but imagine if we traveled with Scott and Kelley! Sounds like my kind of trip. "We Owned the Night," is a song about a love that is perfect, if only for the moment. It might be the first night or the last, as it croons, "Not knowing in that moment / We'd never speak again / But it was perfect / I never will forget / When we owned the night."
The song's folk-y beat lightens the dark undertones in the song.
The guitar riffs in "Friday Night" immediately send your head a'bopping and remind of a song from the 1980s. Perhaps Journey? It is too bad that this song did not come out sooner, because this would be the summer anthem that only a country song could be.
The band's name pays homage to the pre-Civil War era of the American South, and the style of houses that are common in the South, including Scott's hometown of Nashville, Tenn. and Kelley and Haywood's hometown of Augusta, Ga. Despite this namesake, they are no Kenney Chesney. If anything, they are Taylor Swift, if Swift was three people who were not born in Pa. who can harmonize and sing live together.
Kelley is very convincing, however. His twang and grit echoes proudly and beautifully in his harmonies with Scott. Both are naturally southern in accent and demeanor, but their music is what skates the thin line between country and pop, dangling its toes ever so slightly in country's waters.
In this way, Antebellum reaches out to millions of fans. The themes of love and loss are not new to this band. But, its simplicity and heartfelt lyrics sprinkled in upbeat and mellow tunes are what drive this album and make it one of the best of the year so far.
