Albums : Lady Antebellum : Golden

Albums : Lady Antebellum : Golden

Listen To Lady Antebellum : Golden

"Thank you, Coachella!" shouted Charles Kelley from the main stage Saturday night at Stagecoach — and, sure, he might've been referring to the desert valley in which the Empire Polo Club is located. More likely, though, was that Lady Antebellum's frontman momentarily forgot which festival he was headlining.

You couldn't really blame him. One of country's most openly pop-oriented outfits, Lady Antebellum doesn't share much with the surly Toby Keith (who topped Friday night's bill) or the jammy Zac Brown Band (which is to close the festival Sunday). There's roots music in the group's sound — in the lightly twangy guitars and in Kelley's and Hillary Scott's close vocal harmonies — but not much more than there is in that of, say, the Lumineers, who played Coachella.

Give the guy some time (and maybe a collaboration with Coldplay's Chris Martin) and he might actually end up at Indio's other big show.

Until then, Lady Antebellum will have to settle for glossing up country festivals, which it did with little strain over the course of a tidy 90-minute set packed with hits such as "Just a Kiss," "American Honey" and "Lookin' for a Good Time." It also previewed a handful of tunes from a new album due out next month, including the innocently funky "Downtown" and "Golden," a lovely folk-soul ballad. And Kelley brought out his pal Dierks Bentley for a lukewarm rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire."

Bentley preceded Lady Antebellum on the main stage Saturday, and though he easily charmed the crowd with his regular-dude banter, songs like "Come a Little Closer" and "Home" landed with little impact. His problem wasn't a lack of ambition: An arena-rock aspirant obsessed with bluegrass, Bentley was trying his best to supersize down-home verities for an audience numbering in the tens of thousands. But the music felt hollow — all volume with no density.

More exciting than either of those marquee names were two marquee names from previous eras: Dwight Yoakam and Marty Stuart, both of whom played electrifying sets Saturday on Stagecoach's smaller stages.

Yoakam in particular was great, powering through old stuff like "Little Sister" and tunes from last year's "3 Pears" with a driving intensity sharpened by years spent on the road. He flexed that experience too when he forgot the words (or pretended to forget the words) to "Streets of Bakersfield," then ad-libbed a new line about spending some time in Coachella.

Perhaps he and Kelley can have a beer there.

Golden Review
The best moments on Lady Antebellum‘s fourth album ‘Golden’ find Charles Kelley or Hillary Scott singing solo, with minimal help from the other on harmonies. There is no shortage of songs that act as features for the two talented vocalists. The evolution of the trio finds them becoming a dual threat super power instead of a two-headed pop-rock-country group.

Scott shines on this album in a way she never has before. ‘Golden’ is her album, with the singer sharing a new confidence with every note. Her performance can’t be overstated. ‘Downtown’ is more fun than any Lady A song to date thanks to her sass, and ‘It Ain’t Pretty’ is as real and hopeless (in a good way) as anything they’ve cut yet.

“I got my high heels in my hand / I’m ready for the walk of shame,” she sings during this song about a shallow one night stand. It’s more effective — although probably not as catchy — as ‘Need You Now.’

Kelley hardly takes an album off. His sparkling moments are on the current single, ‘Goodbye Town,’ and the title track. ‘Golden’ is a beautiful love song and the tallest of the three members of this trio pours his heart into it. If he’s not thinking of someone specific as he sings, then he deserves an Oscar for his acting.

The organic and innocent ’Nothin’ Like the First Time’ and the frisky ‘Long Teenage Goodbye’ are also highlights that, despite being collaborations between the two, manage to keep from being bogged down. That’s not the case with ‘Can’t Stand the Rain’ and ‘Generation Away.’ One sings while the other harmonizes, but the mix is turned up so loud that it sounds more like a duo. By stepping back, the true potential of Lady Antebellum steps forward. At times, it’s as if Kelley and Scott are battling for mic time, but to be fair there are fewer of these moments than on any previous album.

The always reliable Dave Haywood’s performance on ‘Golden’ isn’t as obvious, but one can credit the tight songwriting and sharp production to him. One or two songs might be too simple to keep up with some of the other fuller arrangements, but that’s really just personal preference. There’s a new maturity on this record that, if allowed to progress, promises something even bigger with the next album.

In the meantime, one is left with a project with few — if any — skip-ahead tracks and more than a handful that could make a ‘Greatest Hits’ CD.


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