Lady Antebellum have been a major force in the country music scene since Need You Now exploded all over the world. They may have remained a one hit wonder overseas, but in the US they are still kind of a big deal. Heart Break is the first album released by the trio since their 2014 effort 747, which unfortunately was not as successful as expected. So do Hillary, Charles and Dave still have the chemistry to make a great album, or should their hiatus have lasted a little longer? Keep reading to see what we here at Kritikon thought of their seventh studio album.
Before you continue to our track by track ratings, make sure you check out our system!
2 - Filler
3 - Above average
4 - Killer
5 - Career defining masterpiece
Track 01 - Heart Break
John - 3/5
Tilly - 3.5/5
Track 02 - You Look Good
John - 3.5/5
Tilly - 3/5
Track 03 - Somebody Else's Heart
John - 3.5/5
Tilly - 2.5/5
Track 04 - This City
John - 3/5
Tilly - 2/5
Track 05 - Hurt
John - 4/5
Tilly - 3.5
Track 06 - Army
John - 2/5
Tilly - 2.5/5
Track 07 - Good Time To Be Alive
John - 2.5/5
Tilly - 2/5
Track 08 - Think About You
John - 2/5
Tilly - 3/5
Track 09 - Big Love In A Small Town
John - 2/5
Tilly - 1.5/5
Track 10 - The Stars
John - 2/5
Tilly - 1.5/5
Track 11 - Teenage Heart
John - 3/5
Tilly - 3.5/5
Track 12 - Home
John - 2.5/5
Tilly - 2/5
Track 13 - Famous
John - 3.5/5
Tilly - 3/5
Conclusion
John - In answer to the question above, maybe they should have been on hiatus longer.. This record felt, at times, like just a half-hearted attempt at letting people know Lady Antebellum are still around. It started pretty strongly, peaking, in my opinion, with Hurt - and then it took a sharp and sudden decline. From that point, each song apart from Teenage Heart and Famous had the same wishy washy, average feel to it. They were forgettable because there was nothing that hooked you. Some of the lyrics were questionable, the instrumentals offered little that sounded very different, and I certainly won't be having any tracks stuck in my head.
I don't think this is the album that Lady Antebellum or their fans wanted. It was a record of two halves, sure - the first five songs were pretty good. Hurt was definitely the highlight, combining pretty lyrics with excellent vocals and a decent instrumental, but even that won't be something I'm rushing to listen to again. Famous was the most frustrating track for me - it could have been a four or even five star rating, but it fizzled out in the places where you most wanted it to shine. The subject matter deserved better! Heart Break is not a bad album - but it is frustrating and it is forgettable. Don't expect it to rock your world.
I don't think this is the album that Lady Antebellum or their fans wanted. It was a record of two halves, sure - the first five songs were pretty good. Hurt was definitely the highlight, combining pretty lyrics with excellent vocals and a decent instrumental, but even that won't be something I'm rushing to listen to again. Famous was the most frustrating track for me - it could have been a four or even five star rating, but it fizzled out in the places where you most wanted it to shine. The subject matter deserved better! Heart Break is not a bad album - but it is frustrating and it is forgettable. Don't expect it to rock your world.
Overall Score - 2.5.5
Tilly - So they went on hiatus for a couple of years partly because they weren't selling anymore and felt like they'd been over saturated on country radio. Did they ever consider that maybe they'd just lost their touch? Where was the Need You Now? The Just A Kiss or Dancing Away With My Heart? Heck, even Long Stretch Of Love! This post-hiatus Antebellum needs to go BACK on hiatus and have a rethink because despite Heart Break not being a bad album, it was instantly forgettable and average which is perhaps even worse than being bad? This was full of lyrical tropes, and additional meaningless words to fit the metre. The arrangement of basically every song bar a few (Heart Break, You Look Good, Teenage Heart and Hurt) was tired and honestly, Charles Kelley sounded like the only member interested in the music that he was actually doing.
Like I said previously, it is not a bad album and I may be being overly critical with this review (not my ratings) because I am aware of how good they can be. Maybe they don't want to be doing this anymore. At least that's what listening to Heart Break sounded like.
Like I said previously, it is not a bad album and I may be being overly critical with this review (not my ratings) because I am aware of how good they can be. Maybe they don't want to be doing this anymore. At least that's what listening to Heart Break sounded like.
Overall Score - 2.5/5
For Fans Of - Little Big Town, Love and Theft and Gloriana
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