I have heard of Lady Antebellum before, but I never really made the effort to listen to them that often since I don’t like traveling outside the music I already listen to. However, when I came across their new album, Own the Night, I was actually quite surprised with what I found.
The band started out in Nashville, TN in 2006, and is composed of three artists: background vocalist Charles Kelley, musician, Dave Haywood and lead singer Hillary Scott. When the group made an appearance in Jim Brickman’s music video for the single “Never Alone” in 2007, their career took off.
Following Need You Now, the band’s previous album, comes Own the Night which was released Sept. 13. The album primarily focuses on love and dramatic relationships, but still maintains light and fun music — whereas the previous album concentrates on happiness and forbidden love. The album is composed of 12-tracks, and is about 45 minutes long.
Lady Antebellum is a country band, but, in my opinion, it isn’t totally twang. I do like country music, but I’m not one for its mainstream bands. As far as country music goes, I will listen to a couple songs here and there, but I don’t usually listen to the rest of the album.
That’s why it was so odd that I instantly fell in love with the first song on the album I listened to. This song was “Just A Kiss,” one of the slower selections from Own the Night. It focuses on the need to take a relationship slow and the importance of acquiring the ability to be open with a person’s significant other.
“Just A Kiss” has a very catchy tune that gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it. I like the way that Kelly’s voice sounds in the beginning of this piece, with Scott’s voice entering back into the song, creating a beautiful harmony with the lyrics: “I’ve never opened up to anyone / so hard to hold back when I’m holding you in my arms / We don’t need to rush this / let’s just take this slow.”
At this point in the album, I was still skeptical, assuming the song to be the work’s only successful hit. However, I was soon proven wrong as I continued listening to the tracks.
The song “Friday Night” speaks about having fun in a relationship and has a very youthful feel. The music has a faster pace, which includes a fair amount of harmonies, and is extraordinary. A lot of us can relate to the themes this song conveys, whether it be from a romantic relationship or one of friendship.
Words like: “I wanna be your Friday night sweet ride / Summertime sunshine barefoot in the moonlight … We can rock together / Let the good times roll forever / Fill up our cup make a memory, drink it up…” fill the listener with the carefree sense of youth, making the entire experience fun and whimsical.
The band further takes advantage of their amazing harmonies in the songs, “Wanted You More” and “When You Were Mine.” In the first, Scott’s voice dominates over Kelley’s, but she has a deep supporting vocal that shows contrast in the singers, portraying their musical compatibility. The second begins with Scott’s voice fading in during the first verse, only to harmonize with Kelly’s voice, which comes in with his during the next line, mixing for a beautiful sound.
As I kept listening, I discovered that most of the songs on the album have a unique sound and meaning, often conveyed through their lyrics. Lady Antebellum is extremely popular and I haven’t heard anything bad about them, so I’ve concluded that their music will meet the expectations of most listeners.
In this album, the band has more of a connection with each other than they previously had. As time goes on, I believe that Lady Antebellum will continue to grow closer and improve on their music because they have already come this far. If they keep improving their sound, greater things are bound to come.
Own The Night is very country, and I’ve come to enjoy it very much. Fans of country music are likely to enjoy this album as much as I did, and I encourage everyone to at least listen to a song or two, as it’s surprising what you might find hiding behind the play button.
The album is available for purchase on iTunes, on Amazon.com and at most local music stores.
For more music reviews, read the Aug. 23 article, ‘Any Man in America’ recounts heart-wrenching testimony.
