Little Big Town
is a vocal quartet consisting of two men and two women who sing their songs by mixing up lead vocals and harmonies, such that one may start a song only to have another take the second verse, while some other combination sings the choruses. This, of course, is not typical of
country
music, nor are the song arrangements, which lean heavily to a
folk-rock
sound with prominent acoustic guitars and rhythm section, but only touches of fiddle and steel guitar; nor, for that matter, are the songs themselves, most of them written by the group members, which tend toward a
pop
sensibility with their generalized romantic sentiments. In the inevitable game of describing a new act by its antecedents, one must throw out names like
Fleetwood Mac
rather than any specifically
artists. Actually,
does call to mind certain
acts of the past. They may remind knowledgeable
fans of such late-'80s performers as
Foster & Lloyd
and
Kennedy Rose
, duos that earned critical kudos (especially from non-
critics), but struggled to earn a commercial footing and ultimately found greater success behind the scenes as writers. Championed by
Monument Records
, the same label that changed the parameters of conventional
success with
the Dixie Chicks
,
may succeed by rewriting the Nashville rule book in a similar way. ~ William Ruhlmann