MUSIC REVIEW: ‘Pain Killer’ Little Big Town’s most ambitious album yet

There’s an experimental feel — a stretching perhaps — to the 13 songs that make up supergroup Little Big Town’s new album, “Pain Killer,” which will hit record stores Oct. 21.

But fans of the group — Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook — should not fret over the break from formula. The trademark harmonies that set LBT apart from their country contemporaries are as much a part of the band’s new release as anything they’ve done in the past.

With excellent guitar work that at times edges into rock territory and experimental forays into reggae, doo-wop and girl-group soul, this is Little Big Town’s most ambitious collection yet. They’re all over the place with influences: from Sheryl Crow to Taylor Swift to the Eagles to the Hooters to Wet Willie to Jack White to Stevie Nicks and the rest of Fleetwood Mac.

But what ties it all into a package that will keep existing fans happy and bring plenty of converts to the fold are the uncanny harmonies forged over years of singing together.

Among the strongest tracks on “Pain Killer” are the rousing “Turn the Lights On,” the spare, ’50s rock gem “Girl Crush,” the album opener, “Quit Breaking Up With Me,” which offers the memorable battling-lovers line, “We can never remember what the hell we were yelling about,” and the wonderful ballad “Live Forever,” which is infused with a haunting, martial beat.

“Day Drinking,” “Pain Killer’s” first single, is a party song worthy of The Hooters; “Save Your Sin” opens like Green Day’s “American Idiot” and tosses a few soulful “hoo-hoos” into the chorus, and “Stay All Night” goes from rap to rock to country with a face-melting rock guitar solo added for measure. Guitarist Gordon Kennedy certainly earns his keep on the disc.

“Tumble and Fall” is more what LBT fans have come to expect from the band, infused with their often breathtaking harmonies; the title song mixes a reggae beat with soothing la-la-la-la-la-la-la backing vocals; “Silver & Gold” is a lovely Nicks-like ballad; “Things You Don’t Think About” offers sage “You only make it harder on yourself when you walk away” advice to a roaming partner, and the rocker “Faster Gun” — which would have fit nicely on The Eagles’ “Desperado” album — offers memorable adios lines “Love for you is like a Wild West movie” and “Somebody’s gonna come along and shoot you like you shot me down.”

Some fans may miss the popular but formulaic tunes (“Boondocks,” “Little White Church,” “Pontoon”) that catapulted Little Big Town to stardom, but others who’d rather see growth in their musical heroes will applaud the quartet’s effort. There’s a lot to like about “Pain Killer,” an album that settles for new direction over formula, even if it is tried and true.