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Rascal Flatts too often traffics in quirk and glossy crescendo over substance, and on that count not much changes on the group’s fourth CD. But the country-pop trio occasionally constructs a skillful pop single that gets under the collective skin. The terrific and addictive “What Hurts the Most” is a case in point: Lead singer Gary LeVox alternates between a semi-rap cadence and an anguished falsetto howl, while fiddle and banjo pulse beneath the mounting pop swirl. “Backwards” is a clever rundown of the old story of what happens when you play a country song backward, and “Words I Couldn’t Say” offers some solid poetic imagery. These are the highlights tucked into an album that cloys over the long haul.
