Georgia's chart-topping contemporary country-rock act
Sugarland hit pay dirt on their first two albums,
Twice the Speed of Life and
Enjoy the Ride, which eventually sold over three million copies apiece. The duo of
Kristian Bush and
Jennifer Nettles initially had their roots in the Georgia alt-rock scene and connected with the more rockist sounds of 21st century country. Scoring hit single and after hit single, they became a top-selling concert draw, but in the pressure and hustle
Bush and
Nettles became somewhat unsatisfied with their writing and recording processes. For
Love on the Inside, they flexed some hard-won industry muscle and successfully lobbied Mercury to let them co-produce their own record (with
Byron Gallimore) and record in Georgia instead of Music City. The result is the most organic of
Sugarland's three albums. Cut live from the floor,
Bush and
Nettles' vocals were tracked in the midst of a band playing around them with few overdubs. Repeated takes yielded performance-quality vocals and very natural-sounding guitars, B-3s, mandolins, pianos, and drums (from
Matt Chamberlain no less). The songs here are entire levels above anything they've written.
Love on the Inside is an album-length reflection on love in its many forms -- from new love to grief, betrayal, regret, loss, and rediscovery. There's plenty of the personal in this set, too;
Nettles went through a divorce during its creation (check "It Happens," "Keep You," and "Take Me as I Am").