Lady Antebellum is an American country music group that was formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006. Its group members include Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals), Dave Haywood (background vocals, guitar, piano and mandolin), and Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals). Since signing on with Capitol Records Nashville in 2007, the group has released two award-winning albums which include their debut album, “Lady Antebellum”, and their latest album, “Need You Now”. They have also recorded five hit singles including “Love Don’t Live Here”, Lookin’ For a Good Time”, “I Run to You”, and from their new album, “Need You Now”, and “American Honey”. Their music and styles have been compared to other country artists such as Love and Theft (also new), Gloriana, Sugarland, and Miranda Lambert.
The band’s latest album, “Need You Now”, is definitely a new sound compared to their debut album. Each song plays smoothly throughout the album, and flows well into the next song, creating a list of songs that mesh perfectly with one another. Most of the songs were co-written by the band’s members, and you can definitely hear that authentic singer-songwriter quality in their music that one doesn’t often hear in contemporary music, but will often hear in country music. What makes the album special, however, are the beautiful and emotional lyrics that form the essence of Lady A’s music.
To see the best examples of the band’s amazing lyrics for this album, one must first listen to their current hit singles that have been rocking not only the country charts, but the U.S. Billboard charts. The album’s title song, “Need You Now”, is a really great, catchy song that is relatable to anyone who has ended a relationship but still long for one another. There is deep emotion to be found in the lyrics, as in the opening chorus lyrics: “It’s a quarter after one, I’m all alone, and I need you now.” The album’s second hit single, “American Honey”, is a very different sound and feel from the title song. The song’s music has a very mellow, pleasant sound, and would be described to be sweet like “American honey”. The lyrics seem to describe the sweet love for American honey, but also a young girl who seems to personify the innocence and sweetness of youth, and the desire to go back to a time that was as sweet as summer and honey.
The album also combines a good mix of upbeat, catchy, feel-good songs with soft, slow, heart-felt songs. Songs like “Our Kind of Love”, “Stars Tonight”, “American Honey”, and “Something “Bout a Woman” are among the catchy, feel-good songs that could be compared to songs from not only their debut album, but from artist bands like Gloriana and Love and Theft. These are songs to listen to when someone is in a downer kind of mood because of the upbeat music and lyrics. Likewise, songs like “Hello World”, “When You Got a Good Thing”, “If I Knew Then”, and “Ready to Love Again” are good examples of the slow songs that have heart-felt emotion and strong lyrics. Some of these songs are beautiful love songs that could be played as wedding songs, while others have good messages for people who’ve been through sad experiences.
Some songs stick out more than others, however, and could potentially become hit singles in the coming months of 2010. “Perfect Day” has an upbeat country edge to it, has very happy, catchy lyrics, and would be a good song to hear on the radio in the summer. “Love This Pain” is a very strong song that is very upbeat, but has a bit of a sad feel to the lyrics, much like the song “Runaway” by Love and Theft. “Something “Bout a Woman” is a real feel-good song that has a country twang to it and good instrumentals.
The song that stands out the most is the finale at the end of the album list, “Ready to Love Again”. This is a very uplifting song that is a reminiscent combination of “Need You Now” and “I Run to You” (previous hit single from debut album). In contrast to the album’s title song, this one describes someone who has gotten over the heartbreak and loss of a past love relationship and they are “ready to love again”. If you listened to this song right after hearing “Need You Now”, the song could be played as a companion track to the other song. The lyrics of this song have an especially powerful emotional feel to them, as many people have gone through the process of being ready to try and express love after suffering a broken heart.
Overall, this album is Lady Antebellum’s best music and lyrics to date, and they continue to show promise through their work. This dynamic trio keeps on producing and recording great hits, and if they keep it up with these incredible songs that catch the ears of millions of people, then 2010 and the coming years ought to be very promising for Lady A.
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