One might call the release of their current album a celebration of the 20th anniversary of their career. But factually this is not really correct. Since the four piece unit Little Big Town was already founded in 1998. But after a failed contract with Mercury Nashville it took them until 2002 to release their debut album on Monument Records.
20 years on, the group released their 10th studio album named "Mr. Sun" on September 16, 2022. In between these two mileposts they received countless nominations resulting in over 20 actual awards, including 3 Grammy Awards. Surprisingly enough they have only charted 3 number one hits on the country charts to date.
This speaks for their individuality, which too often defies categorization and makes it especially difficult for country radio to support them unconditionally. That's why comparing them with other country artists never seems to be on target and critics therefore prefer naming artists from outside the genre such as Fleetwood Mac or ABBA for comparison.
Just like Jon Freeman of Rolling Stone Country does,when he writes about the release of "Mr. Sun": "On their 10th studio album Mr. Sun, the group of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook, and Phillip Sweet lean fully into the softer side of Seventies pop, from Fleetwood Mac to ABBA, with a sizable dose of breezy yacht rock thrown in as well. It’s a great fit for them — pillowy harmonies and major-7th chords abound."
It is the follow-up project to their even more quiet "Nightfall" from January of 2020 and based on the number of tracks (16) one may easily
conclude that Little Big Town (like so many other artists) have made good use
of the pandemic when all touring was put on hold and invested it into lots of
new music. Interestingly there was not much promotion around the album release
so that many were not even aware of it. Not enough commercial success over the
last few years (their last top-10 and number-one hit at the same time, the
Taylor Swift written 'Better Man' dates back to 2016) may have
been the reason why the label was not willing to spend much for the release of
the project.
At the same time the group is still respected enough, that
Capitol Nashville allows them the freedom not only to release a project
like "Mr. Sun", but also lets them produce it. And, as
wnypapers.com
adds:
"New and old relationships are woven through “Mr. Sun,” with a
member of the band writing or co-writing 13 of the 16 tracks, and a
grand total of 33 songwriters hailing from three countries and 20 different
states."
In an interview with americansongwriter.com, Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town points out the evolution from the last album to the current one: "Nightfall was so much about what happens at night, the good and the bad. And this one [Mr. Sun] is much more looking ahead to better days."
It is difficult to pinpoint 16 songs worth nearly one hour of music. Catherine Walthall of americansongwriter.com tries it anyhow: "Mr. Sun is a bright, upbeat album heavily inspired by the groovy music from the ’70s. It’s an album perfectly suited for yacht rock hang-outs or rollerblading meet-ups. Inside the record, notes reminiscent of the Bee Gees, Fleetwood Mac, and the Eagles ring out, but they’re all tailored to Little Big Town’s country expertise."
And in fact one may discover hints of disco in 'Heaven Had A Dance Floor' and it is not easy to let the ABBA comparison drop once it gets inside ones brain. After all both groups find their identity in easily recognizable 4-part harmonies.
First single from the project was the happy sound of 'Hell Yeah' which actually has a pretty depressive lyric to it. Unfortunately it was too bland and not authentic enough, even for the charts, where it didn't leave much of an impression.
Much better feels the new single 'Three Whiskeys And The Truth', which adapts the well known reference about country music (three chords and the truth) in its title. The longing after a breakup comes off much more coherent - all the way to the whiskey-induced realisation: I still miss you after all.
Even more intense is 'One More Song', which desperately tries to make a stand against the inevitable end (of a relationship). The married couple in the band performs the song as a duet and takes the listener onto the small edge between hope and despair.
The infectious beat of 'Song Back', stubbornly demands the ex to leave that one particular song alone, which
triggers new old memories of him or her. The word song becomes a
placeholder for the happy life before the failed relationship, which was so
much better:
Truth is, I don't need ya
So, get the hell out of my speakers
Why ya gotta ruin every line?
If you're gonna play me like that, baby
I want my song back.
The catchy 'Gold' is described by thenashnews.com as "full of 70s elements such as rock, folk, and pop-country that many singers at the time made famous". It's not the hit-song of the same title by Dierks Bentley, but it also makes it difficult to sit still while listening to its optimistic message.
While the meaning of 'Rich Man' about love and happiness being much
more valuable than riches has been beaten to death, the delivery of the song
by Jimi Westbrook (who also wrote it) definitely touches all bases.
The folky 'Last Day On Earth' declares love until the end of time with
its glorious harmonies, that Little Big Town is well known for and has
all four band members take turns at the lead vocal.
The album closes out with the hopeful and encouraging 'Friends of Mine'. The group wrote the song with singer-songwriter Foy Vance from
Northern Ireland and lets it steadily build into a passionate gospel
crescendo.
we're all trying to live in.
We all feel alone and afraid,
be in the moment,
find the strength not to give in
and we'll sail on to better days.
"Mr. Sun" contains a lot of the best assets that have made
Little Big Town famous over the past 2
decades. Such as the four-part harmonies, the interchanging lead vocals and
the willingness to incorporate elements from other genres. With its 16 tracks
it should offer something for anyone enjoying more than one voice at a time on
catchy melodies and lyrics about emotional turmoil.
Still it may not appear on any best-of listings for the year or cause much
havoc on any singles charts. After all, the latter may no longer be the main
focus at this point in their career. Or as the autobiographically sounding
lyrics in the ballad 'God Fearing Gypsies' so nicely wrap it up:
I'm still golden
But I'm older
And I feel like I'm feelin' it now
Both ends of the candle I've been burning are goin' out
I'm still burnin'
But I'm learnin'
How to burn a little slower no.
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