This is the fifth album release from American country-pop trio Lady Antebellum. While perhaps not as well known in Australia, the Nashville-based group is a household name in the US, where they have won multiple Grammys (including Song and Album of the Year in 2011). Lady Antebellum clearly have a broad appeal, and Golden is a very middle-of-the-road album. The sound is pure pop, with a few country inflections provided by flourishes of steel guitar and three-part harmony that do little to lift the overall stale feel of this album.
Golden is technically good, with slick production values and every chorus, guitar lick, and middle-eight in its right place. Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley alternate lead vocal duties, and no melody is unadorned by at least one harmony. The overall effect is pleasant, but unexciting. As the album plodded along, I found myself wishing the tempo of every song had been sped up by half a beat.
A notable exception is lead single ‘Downtown’, which provides some welcome energy. Scott comes alive on this song, berating a boyfriend for never taking her out anymore with a sassy verve that is sorely missing from other tracks. The relaxed country groove is driven by a hooky fingerpicked electric riff and embellished with lap steel, and the chorus has an easy sing-along quality that will probably make this a summer hit in America.
Lyrically, Golden brings nothing new to the standard themes of country/pop tunes: love, partying, and heartbreak, and some of the lyrics are mind-numbingly clumsy. ‘It Aint Pretty’ opens with: “I had a feeling/I was feeling alright/It just happened to be Saturday night”, and the chorus of ‘Better Man’: “I’m a better man since I love you/When this crazy world is all through/I’ll be a better man cause I loved you” could have been pulled from any run of the mill country/pop song of the last 50 years.
Golden is an exercise in bland and feels instantly dated; the title track sounds like it could be a Goo Goo Dolls B-Side from the late 90s. Every song feels carefully formulated to appeal to the widest audience, and the overall effect is uninspiring and empty.
4/10
Reviewer: Frances Bulley