The Singles Jukebox

We’ve missed them! Well, sort of…

[Video]
[4.57]

Katie Gill: First things first: I am HERE for this Sugarland revival. They’re a band that has had more of an influence on country music than most people realize and have potential to shake-up the boring rut that country radio’s stuck itself in. But for a big comeback single, this is amazingly expected. The lyrics are borderline cliché: it’s about distance, coming so far, “where are you now” sort of lyrics. “Don’t be afraid to change/our love is still the same” is “hey, don’t worry, our sound might be different but we’re still the Sugarland you know and love!” wrapped in a love sound sentiment. I’d buy it more if things sounded more changed to begin with. This is an odd choice for a lead single because it sounds like a fourth single song, missing the fun and bounciness that all of Sugarland’s most famous hits are known for. Still, I missed hearing Jennifer Nettles’s voice on country radio, and legitimately squealed when I saw them on one of those New Years Eve programs, so predictable as it is, I can’t hate on the song too much.
[7]

Katherine St Asaph: Points for sounding like nothing on country radio or anywhere, really, but it’s kind of backward how this sounds like the Al Walser version of “Younger Now.”
[5]

Stephen Eisermann: I want to like this because I missed Sugarland dearly, but this is boring as hell. The lyrics don’t even lend themselves to that interesting of a story, instead serving as more of an introduction to their return than anything else. The music is nice, I guess, but it’s also pretty mediocre. It’s cool that Jennifer and Kristian have reunited, but if this is all we’re getting then I’d rather they not so I can hold on to the lovely memories of their prior singles. 
[4]

Micha Cavaseno: You know on one hand, the restless genre-hops of Sugarland have kind of made them progenitors of so many “irregularities” in modern country. On the other hand, they’ve always been the most banal group to be so popular, just because they’re so adamant about being as trite and digestible as possible. Lucky you if the silver linings in the former blind you from the crustiness of the latter.
[2]

Austin Brown: The funk in the bridge made my ears perk up, but the generalized schlock of everything else means it’s just not worth waiting two minutes for.
[3]

Alfred Soto: It’s nice and Pro Tooled within a second of its guitar picking until the polite funk breakdown, thus they realize the diegetic pathos of the title. Like many acts years gone, though, their marketplace insecurity forces them into excess (strings, really?).
[6]

Alex Ostroff: This is a perfectly acceptable Sugarland song, and I know I shouldn’t hold the fact that it isn’t “Stuck Like Glue” against it, but… it’s certainly no “Stuck Like Glue,” you know?
[5]