The Band Perry Essay
The Band Perry, a sibling musical trio composed of Kimberly Perry and her brothers Reid and Neil, is an interesting study in contrast. Just with the first two singles, the newcomers offered a lightweight, ebullient number in "Hip to My Heart" and a sad, weighty ballad, "If I Die Young." And most impressively, both songs manage to fit in well on their surprisingly diverse debut album.
"You Lie" is a sturdy, acoustic number that confidently and aggressively addresses an unfaithful man. The attitude is at the strongest when she suggests killing him and doing the whole world a service. Now, that's harsh. What makes the song work even better is the high attention to detail: she doesn't just fling his ring off a bridge, she explicitly tells how she drives to the middle of a mile-long bridge, then flings the ring off and says that it'll stay there until the Second Coming.
The album's first singles are in the second and third slots on the album. "Hip to My Heart" was a solid enough choice for a first single. Although Kimberly oversings just a little at points, the song is still bursting with energy and highly original lyrics ("I like your lips like I like my Coca-Cola / Oh, how it pops and fizzes"), not to mention a delightfully uncluttered banjo-and-mandolin backing. As I mentioned in the intro, "If I Die Young" is just about a total 180° from that song. Here, Kimberly (who wrote the song herself) ponders her own mortality in surprisingly clear-eyed detail that almost perfectly paints all the uncertainties of young-adulthood and how others would feel if she indeed died young. This song has obviously resonated well at radio; it debuted the same week that "Hip to My Heart" fell from the charts, and is already a gold single. Don't be surprised if it ends up a dark horse #1 hit. A bouncy melody drives the sweet "All Your Life," which uses slightly off-center imagery such as sand in one's hands and firefly lamps to illustrate how she doesn't want anything other than "to be
"You Lie" is a sturdy, acoustic number that confidently and aggressively addresses an unfaithful man. The attitude is at the strongest when she suggests killing him and doing the whole world a service. Now, that's harsh. What makes the song work even better is the high attention to detail: she doesn't just fling his ring off a bridge, she explicitly tells how she drives to the middle of a mile-long bridge, then flings the ring off and says that it'll stay there until the Second Coming.
The album's first singles are in the second and third slots on the album. "Hip to My Heart" was a solid enough choice for a first single. Although Kimberly oversings just a little at points, the song is still bursting with energy and highly original lyrics ("I like your lips like I like my Coca-Cola / Oh, how it pops and fizzes"), not to mention a delightfully uncluttered banjo-and-mandolin backing. As I mentioned in the intro, "If I Die Young" is just about a total 180° from that song. Here, Kimberly (who wrote the song herself) ponders her own mortality in surprisingly clear-eyed detail that almost perfectly paints all the uncertainties of young-adulthood and how others would feel if she indeed died young. This song has obviously resonated well at radio; it debuted the same week that "Hip to My Heart" fell from the charts, and is already a gold single. Don't be surprised if it ends up a dark horse #1 hit. A bouncy melody drives the sweet "All Your Life," which uses slightly off-center imagery such as sand in one's hands and firefly lamps to illustrate how she doesn't want anything other than "to be