Sugarland: Love on the Inside

By Steve Morley

Country music has been making overtures to pop fans for decades, beginning with the refined sound of hitmakers like Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline in the early 1960s. But just as crossover fever remains high in the 21^st century, so burns the ongoing controversy: is it really country? The question isn’t easy to answer. Despite its clearly-drawn rural bloodline, country’s definition is being even further expanded by a generation of performers who cut their teeth on crunchy guitars, urban beats and shiny pop aesthetics. Perhaps no current country act has tampered with the formula as successfully as Sugarland, whose grasp of commercial songcraft is equaled by the duo’s penchant for crossing stylistic boundaries. Sugarland’s third album, Love on the Inside, collects emotions and life lessons while avoiding the oversimplification of much mainstream country.

The semi-rustic two-step “We Run” focuses on the breathlessness of new romance and the willing recklessness of its participants while philosophically rationalizing the risks. (“Come undone like a string on a sweater/ That you pull but you know better/ But doing what you shouldn’t’s half the fun/ So we run.”)

“What I’d Give” also revisits youthful yearnings, but ultimately transcends the ordinary in a supremely unselfish moment that showcases the emotional vocals of Jennifer Nettles. (“What I’d give for just one minute/ What I’d give to count all the ways/ If your heart was dark with nothin’ in it/ I’d give you mine and take your place.”)

The slow-burning centerpiece track, “Love,” is the clearest sign of the duo’s admitted interest in spiritual matters. The song poses a host of questions about the universal emotion, prompting thoughtful consideration while avoiding forced or trite conclusions. (“Is it the face of a child/ Is it the thrill of danger/ Is it the kindness we see in the eyes of a stranger/ Is it more than faith/ Is it more than hope/ Is it waiting for us at the end of our rope?”)

“Already Gone” deals compassionately with the consequences of the inevitable restlessness and impulsivity of human nature, and of youth in particular. Even its gentle, waltz-like lilt seems designed to absorb the blow of the broken marriage it eventually describes. But the key line in the song—if not the entire album—neatly sums up the duo’s underlying message: life, and love, are both messy and exciting, so you’d best approach them with humor and grace. “It Happens” is an attempt to do just that, unpacking a tongue-in-cheek tale of woe over a Motown-inspired shuffle. Forget about karma or cause-and-effect. According to this song, chaos is simply part of the package.

“Very Last Country Song” attempts to put the “is it country?” question into perspective, cleverly disarming the perennial criticism that country music is nothing but a hard-luck cliché. (“If memories didn’t last so long/ If nobody did nobody wrong/ If we knew what we had before it was gone/ If every road led back home/ This would be the last country song.”)

Sugarland seems an unlikely party to make the defense, as its music locates elusive yet simple truths while sidestepping truisms. In their genre-spanning sound, which deftly blends the youthfulness of pop with the more adult-oriented themes of country, they literally blur adolescence and maturity, without romanticizing or dismissing either. Sugarland also excels at addressing human foibles with nary a trace of self-pity or cry-in-your-beer bitterness. If anything, the semi-sweet offerings on Love on the Inside make the aftertaste of hard lessons go down a little bit easier.

Audio Clips

"All I Want to Do"

"We Run"

"Joey"

"Love"