Lady Antebellum Own The Night Album Review

Lady Antebellum Undisputedly Owned This Album!

With the first few notes of the title track onLady Antebellum‘s third studio album, Own The Night, I am filled with happiness. Throughout the entire album I never lose this emotion. Let me describe it another way. I am a runner, and when I find music I really love, music that fills my heart up, it makes me want to throw on my running shoes and hit the pavement. This album does this for me.

Lady Antebellum has delivered a wonderful new album with 12 tracks that range from quick and fun (“Friday Night“; “Singing Me Home“) to mellow and sentimental (“Wanted You More“; “As You Turn Away“). One thing that can easily be said of Lady A is that they have a very definite and recognizable sound that sets them apart. I have been trying to think of how to describe this, and the best way I can think of is simply that their sound is a little more than mainstream country, it has a kind of folksy, earthy quality to it as well. You can hear this in the rhythms and lyrics of their songs, and it is explicitly exemplified with a lovely solo of flutes at the end of “Cold As Stone“. What I’m really saying is that Lady A’s music has depth!

Another signature quality of this trio’s music is how well-written it is (On this album, they wrote or co-wrote ten of the twelve songs). They manage to take themes and stories that could easily be cliche, and find poetic and engaging new ways to treat the content. “Cold As Stone” addresses coping with heartbreak and loss, and the chorus “wish I was cold as stone/then I wouldn’t feel a thing” conjures a strong and immediately relatable image. “Dancin’ Away With My Heart” at one point describes a teenage dance which could easily sound trite, but with the line “beneath the moon that was really a disco ball” becomes heartwarming. When you only have two to four minutes to share a story, being able to pack meaning into the few words you have, like Lady Antebellum does, goes a long way to creating a quality music.

I truly enjoy every track on this album. However, if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be “Friday Night“. The gist of the song is that love should be exciting and fun not just every day, same old thing. With lyrics like “I don’t want to be another chore to check off on your list”, “I want to be your jackpot, hot spot” “I want to set you free/I want to take you high/I want to be your Friday night” and an upbeat tempo, it is sure to get your boot tapping. I see myself riding down the road with the windows down and this song blaring!

All in all, Own The Night, is exactly what it should be. It showcases the writing, vocal and instrumental talents of Lady Antebellum, and proves yet again that they deserve the notoriety they have attained in the past couple years. I will definitely have this album on repeat, and hopefully, I (or someone else here at the CMNB newsroom!) will get the chance to see these three perform live on their 2012 tour!

Lady Antebellum’s Own The Night Complete Track Listing

1. We Owned The Night
2. Just A Kiss
3. Dancin’ Away With My Heart
4. Friday Night
5. When You Were Mine
6. Cold As Stone
7. Singing Me Home
8. Wanted You More
9. As You Turn Away
10. Love I’ve Found In You
11. Somewhere Love Remains
12. Heart of the World

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