Heart/break

"Lady Antebellum have steadily drifted toward the smooth sounds of soft rock, and recording in Southern California only accentuates their inherent mellowness. Busbee adds some flash to Lady Antebellum, particularly on the numbers that are just a shade lively. "You Look Good" cooks with a vaguely funky beat, canned synth-horns, and busy drum loops; "Good Time to Be Alive" aspires to be an affirming anthem echoing off the walls of stadiums; "Think About You" moves along to a clean, chipper hook, and "Teenage Heart" achieves a synthesis of open-road country and Lumineers-styled stomp-alongs. These are the exceptions to the sweet, soft rule, though. The rest of Heart Break is split between slow tunes -- either songs of love won or lost (notably, the title track does not belong to this latter category) -- and sugary midtempo numbers graced by the group's supple harmonies. It's mood music and designed to be as such: The alluring sheen doesn't intend to grab the ear but burrows intothesubconscious, so the melodies are remembered upon repeated plays. Perhaps the songs often resemble one another, but isolate individual tracks -- especially on radio -- and they each seem sturdy and friendly, the kind of music that is proudly pleasant".

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