Starting with the threats of "Better Dig Two," there's a swagger that underpins much of Pioneer, the second album from family country-pop trio the Band Perry. This boldness never quite dissipates under the thunderous cloud of big ballads, of which there are many here. Almost all the attitude derives from Kimberly Perry, who retains a sense of palpable defiance even in the quietest moments, her vigor lending passion to music that is deliberately designed to appeal to the widest possible audience as it blurs the line between contemporary country and pop. At times, this desire to be everything to everyone leads to some seriously odd juxtapositions, as on the shred-guitar fireworks of the coda of "Forever Mine Nevermind" -- a grace note Spinal Tap would have been proud to achieve -- and the gurgling talkbox and mandolin war on "I'm a Keeper." These accidental oddities along with Kimberly Perry's fiercely committed vocals give Pioneer a character it otherwise works overtime to avoid and, for as good as the by-the-books ballads and rocking country are, the moments when the façade slips a bit make this worth hearing as an album and not a collection of singles.Starting with the threats of "Better Dig Two," there's a swagger that underpins much of Pioneer, the second album from family country-pop trio the Band Perry. This boldness never quite dissipates under the thunderous cloud of big ballads, of which there are many here. Almost all the attitude derives from Kimberly Perry, who retains a sense of palpable defiance even in the quietest moments, her vigor lending passion to music that is deliberately designed to appeal to the widest possible audience as it blurs the line between contemporary country and pop. At times, this desire to be everything to everyone leads to some seriously odd juxtapositions, as on the shred-guitar fireworks of the coda of "Forever Mine Nevermind" -- a grace note Spinal Tap would have been proud to achieve -- and the gurgling talkbox and mandolin war on "I'm a Keeper." These accidental oddities along with Kimberly Perry's fiercely committed vocals give Pioneer a character it otherwise works overtime to avoid and, for as good as the by-the-books ballads and rocking country are, the moments when the façade slips a bit make this worth hearing as an album and not a collection of singles.false2023-01-16 10:42:19Pioneer920132013-04-022013-04-0265CountryContemporary Country11191721454103b68265c-81da-48e3-8bae-ce820a7b011b28955336-2348-488a-9381-e3a7b010734330e958b5-f7b3-47d9-bfa9-c6a5709e40e1/media/data/media4/Music/The Band Perry/Pioneer (2013)/folder.jpgThe Band PerryAlbumArtistThe Band PerryArtistThe Band PerryThe Band PerryThe Band Perry were an American band composed of siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar), Reid Perry (bass guitar, background vocals), and Neil Perry (mandolin, bouzouki, background vocals).
They signed to Republic Nashville in August 2009 and released their self-titled debut album on October 12, 2010. From this album, "If I Die Young" reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts and has been certified 9x multi-platinum.
Their second album, Pioneer, was released April 2, 2013. It produced additional number one singles in "Better Dig Two" and "Done", plus the top 10 hits "Don't Let Me Be Lonely" and "Chainsaw".
The band transitioned to pop in 2017 and began to release music independently in 2018 before officially going on hiatus in 2023. Following this, Kimberly returned to her country roots and launched a solo career.