Little Big Town’s ‘Over Drinking’ Is Another Stunning Reinvention
Little Big Town's new single "Over Drinking" sounds like nothing they've released before, which is quite a statement considering the wildly dynamic and diverse sounds speckled across their catalog. The new track relies on a menacing guitar lick drawn out across a brooding 4/4 blues beat that leaves plenty of pockets for Karen Fairchild and company to steer.
"Over Drinking" is traditional in the way Chris Stapleton is traditional, which is to say it's not how Hank did it, but it's how lovers of Hank appreciate modern country music. The song finds Little Big Town at the back end of a breakup, just beyond the worst of the pain when you decide you're better than your ex and maybe even better off without them. There's some serious attitude coming from the speakers during this three-minute-long (and change) track — attitude not heard from this group since the Tornado album.
"Yeah, I'm over drinking, over you / I'm done with bottles of chasing the blues / I'll still go out with the boys and knock back a few / But I'm over drinking, over you / Yeah I'm over drinking, over you," Fairchild sings at the chorus. Towards the end her bandmates heap layers of harmonies or complementary backing vocals on what becomes a vocal showcase in spite of the aggressive arrangement.
Little Big Town produced "Over Drinking," a song written by Cary Barlowe, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley, Steph Jones and Hillary Lindsey. This makes the hard-= edges even more head-turning. With so much variety in their playbook, it's not shocking the group is capable of this kind of sound, but it's certainly not what one expects. That's worked well with them historically — in fact, the songs that feel most on-brand for the CMA nominated group are the ones that have misfired in recent years. Perhaps no one — save for Keith Urban — is capable of such surprises.
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