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The Band Perry’s new single ‘Don’t Let Me Be Lonely’ has a
lot to live up to. Following the success of ‘Better Dig Two’ and recent radio
#1, ‘DONE.’, many people will be expecting big things from the country pop
trio. ‘Don’t Let Me Be Lonely’ moves away from the upbeat, rocky, sass-driven
tracks that The Band Perry do so well, and instead opts for a much sweeter
ballad.
It is difficult to say whether the song leans more towards
country or soft rock, as there’s definitely a division between the verse and
chorus, but either way it’s definitely one that grows on you with each listen.
With a chorus that has a hard-hitting drumline and driving electric guitars,
following through with a killer solo just before the bridge, you’d be forgiven
for thinking The Band Perry were trying to turn into a rock band. And you’d
also kind of be right, because it certainly seems like they’re being pushed in
that direction. However, the verses, built upon piano and acoustic guitar
(particularly the first verse), offer something more country and a sound that’s
really pleasant and suits them. In fact, I wish that they’d kept more of the
song in this vein, because it is rather over-powered later on by rock ballad sensibilities.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s effective, dramatic, and will make
a great live performance I’m sure. The production on the second verse is
perfect, despite my misgivings about the heaviness of the instruments. I would very
much like to hear an acoustic version, as I think it would be beautiful.
Because at the basis of it, the melody is lovely and articulated exceptionally
well by Kimberly, who is on vocal form as usual. The harmonies are also right
on point.
I am pleasantly surprised by the lyrics. Still caught up in
summer songs at this time of year, a song in this vein could easily pick up all
the token lines and clichés abundant this year. However, ‘Don’t Let Me Be
Lonely’ shies away from this, and only makes one small reference to driving
(phew). In fact, the lyrics are far more introspective and thoughtful than I
was expecting, and although it focuses around the idea that love goes when you’re
no longer “young and alive” (bit wrong there), it comes across as far more
meaningful than teenage summer love. It feels more adult, and more of an epic love song, rather than one of
infatuation.
Favorite lines include “I wanna shake this winter coat off
my sleeve, dust off a record and just be free”, “when we’re young, we can fly,
but we trip on clouds cause we get too high”, and “the night rolls on like a
long lost friend, ‘til the sunrise bleeds like the bitter end”. That second
one; deep much? They didn’t need to put this much effort into it, they could
have just followed the trends, but they didn’t.
I’m quite impressed with this track, and happy they released
it as a single. I’m not sure about their move into rockier terrain, but I
suppose if they can pull off a country rock sound, why not?
Posted by Vickye.
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