Singer Jennifer Nettles wants to ease her man’s pain on “Fall Into Me” (“I wanna be the one you reach for first”). She ponders where “Love” can be found—from a child’s face to a cross— and suggests that it dwells mostly within relationships. Elsewhere, a woman rummages through a box of bittersweet photographic memories (“Very Last Country Song”). It’s great to hear Nettles taking life’s trials in stride, but …
She ruins things with a coy “shhh” just before the title line of “It Happens.” A woman repeats her mom’s romantic miscues (“Already Gone”), while another gives in to a forbidden tryst because “doing what you shouldn’t is half the fun” (“We Run”). “What I’d Give” and “Come On Get Higher” also involve physical intimacy, while a mournful ode to a love named “Genevieve” sounds a bit awkward sung by another female. A tired person ignoring calls from the office wants a “degree in intoxication” that will “inspire a whole generation” (“Operation: Working Vacation”). “Take Me As I Am” includes a mild profanity.
Some noble messages, but Nettles and bandmate Kristian Bush like to speak through characters in ambiguous situations. That can create moral ambiguity as well, particularly in romantic relationships.
