Lady Antebellum

If Taylor Swift’s 4-Grammy haul last Sunday was any indication of the future of country-pop music, then listeners better prepare for a slew of bands to do the same – in hopes of getting the same results. One such band has already taken heed: Lady Antebellum (Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott – co-lead vocals; Dave Haywood – guitar). The trio’s current single, “Need You Now,” off their second album of the same name, is rapidly crossing over into the pop market.

And as an album, Need You Now does have heavy pop leanings. It begins with the title track, an interesting – if not forlorn – take on a late-night drunken booty call. On “Love This Pain,” Kelley sings about a woman who’s got a “restlessness, a beautiful mess thing about her,” and no matter how hard he tries, he just can’t seem to walk away from this relationship. It’s a song that sounds driven primarily by its melody – rapid drumbeats and heavy guitars – instead of its lyrics. “Stars Tonight” – ahem, rocks out – as Kelley and Scott share vocals about the joys of fame and playing live.

But country fans, rejoice! – there are some traditional country tracks to be listened to as well. “American Honey” is an example: In this song, Scott, backed by violins and guitar, reminisces about a simpler time when things were sweet and slow. “Perfect Day” has a similar theme – except it’s about living in the moment, instead of the past – and has a fuller band sound. “When You Got a Good Thing” sounds like a standard country ballad – it doesn’t really cover any new territory for the genre.

It’s quite possible that next year Lady A will be the ones with armfuls of Grammy awards – they’ve already topped the Billboard charts just one week after release.