sugarland

SUGARLAND

The country duo turns over another new leaf with its new album’s arena-rocking sound

If Sugarland’s new album, The Incredible Machine, sounds grand and full of ambition, that’s because its inspiration was, too. “We had gotten a call about writing a song for a 2010 Winter Olympics soundtrack,” says guitarist Kristian Bush. “So we started thinking, ‘If I were writing a song for a skier or snowboarder to play on their iPod before they competed, what would it be?’”

The result, “Wide Open,” appeared on AT&T’s digitally released Team USA Soundtrack, and served as the jumping-off point for Bush and bandmate Jennifer Nettles to write much of the rest of The Incredible Machine. “We have always been really good at writing for a specific emotion,” Bush says. “We did ‘Wide Open,’ it felt good, and we said, ‘Let’s do that again.’” They also drew on some deeper-rooted inspiration: iconic ’80s pop culture like John Hughes’ films and U2’s cinematic sound during that era. “We were teenagers then, and a lot of the pop culture was about archetypes of what it was like to be that age,” Bush says. “And that’s what really inspired us to become musicians. A lot of the songs came from conversations about that.”

While the powerful, anthemic sound of The Incredible Machine won’t surprise anyone who knows its origins, it might shock country fans used to more down-home sounds. But reinvention is almost as much part of Sugarland’s identity as any one genre. The group grew out of the Atlanta singer-songwriter scene but found immediate success in mainstream country music with its 2004 multiplatinum debut, Twice the Speed of Life. “We’ve turned over a whole lot of new leaves since starting this band,” says Bush.

The trio became a duo when founding member Kristen Hall abruptly quit while Sugarland was still riding high on the first album’s success, and some wondered if the shift would upset the group’s unique chemistry. But Nettles and Bush made the transition seamlessly, and subsequent albums have proved so successful that they’re now headlining arena tours—which comes with its own challenges.

“Our touring and writing cycles have to happen at the same time, and that changes the process a little,” Bush says. “But you realize you can be just as creative 30 minutes before you go on stage as you can holed up in some mesa in the Southwest. Once you take that superstition away and realize you have the confidence to create anywhere, you will.”

–Katie Dodd

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