Style: Radio country-pop; compare to Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Blake Shelton
Top Tracks: “Banjo,” “A Little Home,” “Let It Hurt”
Changed doesn’t refer to the music of hit-country’s most awarded act of the past decade. The new album sticks with signature heavy harmonies, big pop hooks, and wailing electric guitars. It’s not subtle or inventive, but it’s a solid genre piece with far more highs than lows. Steamy “Hot in Here” misses with its boy-bandish chorus, but “Banjo” and “Great Big Love” kick up some gravel on fun four-wheel rambles. “Let It Hurt” and “A Little Home” mine everyman emotions for touching ballads. And faith comes through most clearly in the redemptive title track: “I came out up of the water / raised my hands up to the father / gave it all to him that day.”
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