Little Big Town's 'Pontoon' Shows No Sign of Sinking

"Who would have thought a song about motor boating at this point in our career would cause such a ruckus?" Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild said backstage after a recent performance in New York.

Hailed by many as the "song of the summer," just last week "Pontoon" jumped from No. 13 to No. 9 on the Hot Country Songs Chart, making it their first Top 10 since "Little White Church" in 2010. The quartet expressed their excitement to Billboard upon learning of their latest Top 10 single.

"We knew it was special when we cut it," Kimberly Schlapman said. "The timing of it has been so great. We're on the road with Rascal Flatts so everybody's really beginning to hear it now because it's getting played more and more. Every show is more fun because of it."

Bandmate Phillip Sweet agreed.

"I think the more people hear it, the more momentum it grows and builds," Sweet said. "It's one of those things you can't write it out and say, 'This is going to be a big ol' smash.' You just hope and we do our best at making a fun record that we are moved by and enjoy."

Little Big Town shared their appreciation to the fans for initially showing an interest in the song.

"People want to have fun," Fairchild said. "That's the main thing: people want to have a good time. So if you're making a playlist and you're going out to the lake for the weekend or the beach, I think it just fits people's lives right now."

The band admits they initially gravitated to the song that Natalie Hemby, Luke Laird and Barry Dean wrote but never dreamed of its steady rise up the charts.

"Natalie sang the demo and we thought, 'Man, that's a song that you've never heard.' First of all, who's ever written a song about a pontoon? Never heard that. But having a chick sing it? I don't know," Fairchild confessed. "There's something weird about the delivery when we heard Natalie sing it. And so we thought, 'This song is cool. It sounds like something country fans will really love if they could get a chance to hear it.'"

A song they could relate to themselves having spent many hot summer days on pontoons, Little Big Town's busy schedule keeps them off the water and on the road. In fact, the last time they were on a pontoon was at the CMT Awards in June.

"CMT let us have that pontoon and we couldn't fit it into the storage space that we keep so we had to cut it into four pieces," Fairchild confessed.

The group planned a trip to the lake on their day off in Detroit to rent pontoons but time slipped away from them.

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Track Review: Of Monsters and Men, 'Little Talks'

by Ryan Reed  |   April 29, 2012 10:00 EDT

OF MONSTERS AND MEN
"Little Talks" (4:26)
Producers: Of Monsters and Men, Ingolfur Arnarsson
Writer: Of Monsters and Men
Publishers: Amar Rosenkranz Hilmarsson/Brynjar Leifsson/Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir/Ragnar Porhallsson (BMI)
Skrimslehflaekjaras 1/Universal Republic

One could probably count the number of successful Icelandic musical imports on one hand, and based on the influence of forward-thinking acts like Björk and Sigur Rós, Iceland is now stereotyped as a glacial nation of insular, twinkling art-rock experimenters. But with its boisterously catchy single "Little Talks," indie-pop sextet Of Monsters and Men aims to set the record straight, clearing off decades of cultural cobwebs with a blast of radiant sonic sunshine. "I don't like walking around this old and empty house," Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir sings in a soulful, ecstatic croon. "So hold my hand/I'll walk with you, my dear." It's a simple lyrical message, but the group's innocent, hook-filled ruckus speaks volumes. Underneath the vocals, Of Monsters and Men conjures epic sea-shanty joy, with brass blasts and gang hand claps punctuating acoustic strums and clattering drums.

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Review: Chambers listens to 'little bird' (AP)

Kasey Chambers, "Little Bird" (Sugar Hill)

With a girlish voice and weakness for songs that put an aching vulnerability on display, Australian country rocker Kasey Chambers sometimes seems a little delicate.

That history lends extra power to the title cut of her new disc. Chambers sings of a "little bird" who tells her she might get her man back "if I shut my mouth and don't make a scene" or suppress her individuality in some other way.

She eventually concludes: "I don't want you that bad." It's a strong statement of empowerment and a terrific song, too. The flip side is it takes the wind out of low self-esteem songs like "Invisible Girl," where she's another nowhere girl pining for love.

Chambers resembles a junior version of Lucinda Williams in the "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" era. That's not to diminish her; Lucinda sets a pretty high standard. Chambers' band crackles, moving easily between mandolins and crunching electric guitars. She writes solid songs and deserves a bigger following here.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: We like Chambers best when displays what's unique about her. In this case, it's "Nullarbor (The Biggest Backyard)," where she sings of her unconventional childhood growing up in an Australian wilderness area.

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