Taking a cue from their fellow Southern '90s frat-rocker
Darius Rucker,
Sister Hazel decide to ditch the rock singalongs for country singalongs on 2016's
Lighter in the Dark.
Rucker himself pops in to sing "Karaoke Song" -- the kind of tune designed to get its audience pumped up for the weekend -- but where
Rucker shamelessly dove into the crass gloss of contemporary country,
Sister Hazel hedge their bets, never quite ready to abandon their tempered folk-rock for the
Florida Georgia Line. To be sure, they'll emulate
FGL -- the chanted chorus on the good-time "We Got It All Tonight" isn't a million miles away from "Get Your Shine On" -- and they'll also glide along on the slow-burning soul groove so popular on 2015 country radio, plus they'll take a bit of twang on occasion, not to mention a feint at the big-beat of prime
Mumford & Sons but, for the most part,
Lighter in the Dark feels suited to the arena rock referenced in the title: it's music for the masses at a festival show. The ironic thing is, the two times
Sister Hazel ease themselves into traditional country-rock -- on the burnished "Prettiest Girl at the Dance," which brings to mind prime
Eagles, and the livelier "Run Highway Run" -- are clearly the best things here, which only makes this seem like a lost opportunity: if they defined country through the prism of the '70s and not the 2010s, they would've wound up with a better album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine