The Little Big Town returns with both the commercial and critical success of a nocturnal-inflected record. Nightfall is a textured album that is every bit the band’s expected cinematic experience as promised.
Lyrically, they’re not just asking questions but drawing conclusions that won’t alienate. Following “Sugar Coat,” “Problem Child” gets lost, but here Westbrook explains what we’re all feeling but never finding words to say: We need to display more compassion and cynicism to the youth today. That awareness is genuinely the thread of this band, the group’s ninth and first since The Breaker in 2017.
All this sounds so grim, though – even though Nightfall isn’t a “friendly” record, it’s not a sad listening either. The correct distraction is “Wine Beer Whiskey” – the speed of this song is great and probably the best single choice on the chart, next to “Over Drinking.”
Mariachi horns open before Sweet and Westbrook are leading an anthem that brings big “Pontoon” vibes without duplicating something from the past of the band. It’s a jam right when the band wants it.
Overall, the instrumentation is as diverse as the many moods demanded by the record, and the ever strong vocals of the Little Big Town respond to the varied occasions. But as the songs add up “Nightfall,” you note there’s a pattern at work, mirrored in the title of the album – moods when the lights go down, dreams, and reflections lying alone in bed or with friends.
The Little Big Town leaders are making their way up the country charts with their current “Over Drinking” recorded on their new album, also entitled Nightfall, released on January 17. The group would spend a couple of nights on the tour in several towns.