Bigger by Sugarland is released today, and having spent the last week listening to an early preview release there is no denying that the re-teaming of Jennifer Nettles and Kristen Bush under the Sugarland banner has resulted in the creation of an album which only they could have made.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bigger their sixth studio album, the first released since \u2018The Incredible Machine\u2019 in 2010, and the first to be released as part of their new joint venture with UMG (Universal Music Group) Nashville and Big Machine Records.\u00a0 The eleven track album is a mix of hopeful, uptempo songs, which sit alongside powerful lyrical\u00a0messages many of which address pressing social issues.\u00a0 Messages which it is fair to say mainstream country music tended to shy away from in the duos absence and during the rise of, and now waning, bro-country (why that is a positive, in a genre where the female voice has been unfortunately marginalized in recent years is an article in its own right for another day).<\/p>\n
Individually Nettles and Bush are solid performers, powerful songwriters and producers, but listening to this new material it cannot be denied that they are better when together.\u00a0 After they hit mainstream country consciousness in the early 2000s, their mix of emotion-driven country pop and big live productions drew legions of fans to them.\u00a0 Looking at the album artwork, with its bold circus tent style design and listening to the opening title track Bigger it is clear to see that they are setting out clearly what fans can expect, more of the same only on a grander scale.<\/p>\n
\n