Album Review: Sister Hazel’s “Lighter In The Dark”

Album Review: Sister Hazel’s “Lighter In The Dark”

Sister Hazel isn’t a nun at the local Catholic Church. Sister Hazel is a group from Gainesville, Fl., that has been around since 1993. Sister Hazel had its first hit in 1997 with the song “All For You”, which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band’s style has been classified as southern rock and pop, but with the release of its newest album, “Lighter In The Dark,” we see that Sister Hazel has made the leap into the country genre, and I think it was a smart move for them!

“Lighter In The Dark” is the ninth studio album released on Croakin’ Poet Records and is produced by Chip Matthews, who has been behind the scenes for groups such as Lady Antebellum, Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry, and Little Big Town. With that kind of experience, it’s no wonder that I was taken in and instantly in love with everything I heard. The majority of the album has a very vibrant, toe-tapping, “hit the road running” kind of feel to it, but it also softens up with a couple of ballad-type songs that round out the listening experience very nicely. The overall use of slide guitar and banjo enhance the classic country sound, but there is still enough of a drumming beat to bring this into the more contemporary field that country music has become.

The lead single from this album, “We Got It All Tonight,” has a good “kick up your heels” feel to it with easy guitar that talks of taking backroad drives in the moonlight. “Fall off the Map” also wants us to get in our vehicles and get lost in the night, but this one picks the beat up a notch, and I find myself tapping my toes along with this song. On the same theme of cars and roads, “Run Highway Run” puts in more banjo and goes heavier on the beat but doesn’t lose the simplicity of being a nice song to listen to.

“Karaoke Song” is a piece that features Darius Rucker. It a spectator’s view of the characters you might see on a karaoke night at any given bar. Having done my share of karaoke singing, I understand the characters that take a chance on singing in front of strangers. The song has more of a soft pop feel to it, but it still has charm. “Danger Is Real” is played more like a gospel song, complete with handclapping. The only thing missing is the robed choir singing in the background. I do enjoy the banjo playing, but this song really doesn’t appeal much to me.

The song that does get you on your feet with a flirt and a tease is “Kiss Me Without Whiskey.” With a cute honky-tonk piano in the mix with a two-step beat, you have a song that warns you about what can happen with the right combination of strong drink and the wrong type of girl. Maybe it’s classic country-themed, but I still find it cute to listen to and easy enough to attempt to dance to.

“That Kind of Beautiful” is my personal favorite. It was originally released in 2010 by Canadian band Emerson Drive on their album “Believe.” Sister Hazel picks up the tempo, lightens up the mood, and makes this a very pleasant song to listen to. Rather than the original version, which had a lower vocal range and a heavier tone, I prefer this cover and am willing to bet that others will agree with me. I’d love to see this one on the country Top 10!

“Prettiest Girl at the Dance” has some very nice vocal harmonies that bring to mind earlier songs by The Eagles. The steel and soft acoustic guitars in this track makes it a very sweet and mellow song to listen to. The same vocal harmonies are found in the chorus of “Ten Candle Days.” This storytelling-style song is slow and sad but not depressing in emotion — a true country ballad!

I am really hoping that this album takes off and becomes a huge success for Sister Hazel. This group seems to have found its niche in country music and although it took six years for them to produce another album, I think it was well worth the wait.