Lady Antebellum’s newfound confidence brought a refreshing change to their songs on their most recent album, “Golden.”

“Golden,” which was released on May 7, is the group’s fourth album and is topping charts with as much ease as their smooth, country voices.

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself wanting to tap my foot to the songs’ catchy beats.

It’s like a weight has been lifted off of the trio since the release of the heavier, more mainstream single in 2010, “Need You Now.”

Album “Own the Night,” released in 2011, included pieces such as “Cold As Stone” and “Singing Me Home,” which were supposed to bring some playfulness and light to the album. But neither were nearly as clean as any of the songs on “Golden,” and they relied heavily on the harmonies produced by lead singers Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley.

The singers’ mesmerizing ability to blend their voices is still a strength on some songs such as “Better Man,” which is about people changing for those they love. Perhaps the most impressive harmonizing is on the album’s namesake.

Scott seems to have much more confidence this time around, and has much more sass in her voice than on the previous albums.

The attitude change is especially evident in “Better Off Now (That You’re Gone),” which is about saying good riddance to a bad relationship, and “Downtown,” a fun song in which Scott expresses anger toward a lover who refuses to show her off around town.

The latter piece was released prior to the entire album and reached No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts in April.

But I love that Scott still refrained from diving into the more “raw” country that usually encompasses violent tendencies and hard core liquor.

Listeners can still hear a shy smile in Scott’s voice as she takes on some of the lighter numbers like “Nothing Like the First Time” and “Generation Away.”

I had no idea how much talent Kelley had been holding back until I listened to “Goodbye Town,” which is about letting go of the past, and “All For Love,” a vocally powerful duet about a relationship’s fallout when love is still existent.

Guitarist and songwriter Dave Haywood also plays a crucial part in the success of many of the songs on this album, and “Can’t Stand the Rain” wouldn’t be nearly as impressive without his work on the keyboard.

Even with all of these great elements going for Lady Antebellum’s latest album, many of the songs still lack one crucial thing: depth.

The up-tempo songs are enjoyable enough to listen to and easy to sing along with, but they are somewhat shallow. The singers never connect better or more personally with listeners than with a slow, completely depressing ballad.

The best song by far is “It Ain’t Pretty,” a heart-wrenching piece that only Scott could do justice. In the three and a half minutes of that song she made me mourn her relationship mistakes.

But the problem is that “It Ain’t Pretty” is the only slow ballad that digs into people’s emotions as much as “Need You Now” did.The album could have used some more diversity.

Other than that, I think that “Golden” has a great, laid back vibe with just enough funk to appeal to both country and pop music fans.