The Band Perry — “Postcard From Paris”

Songwriters: Jeff Cohen, Kara DioGuardi, Kimberly Perry, Reid Perry and Neil Perry

Brother-sister-brother trio The Band Perry is so perfectly loveable that it’s easy to forget the group’s biggest hit is a morbid daydream about dying young.

But behind their peppy award acceptance speeches and perfectly coiffed strands is a whole mess of crazy – perhaps  that’s why Kimberly’s hair’s so big, it’s full of secrets? – that consistently churns out radio-friendly fare with a twist. Accordingly, the band’s best moments often emerge from its knack for contrasting an energetic style with stark, raw confessions, even when dressed up in neat, happy packages.

Within The Band Perry’s latest single “Postcard from Paris,” that moment hits at the end of a flowery chorus when lead vocalist Kimberly spits “The meanest thing you ever did was come around,” followed by a heartbroken, matter-of-fact lament of “I am ruined.” It’s a one-two punch that perfectly captures that devastating moment of young love’s betrayal, and somewhere, Taylor Swift is kicking herself for not stringing it together first.

Unlike Kimberly’s solo credit on “If I Die Young” or the band’s go-to collaborators (and fellow family group) The Henningsens, two established pop songwriters had a hand in these lyrics’ power. “Postcard From Paris” was co-written by the band with Jeff Cohen (who also co-wrote pop hit “Crazy For This Girl” for the “Long Road to Love”-less duo Evan and Jaron) and American Idol alum Kara DioGuardi.

That brush with Top Forty royalty is the song’s only hint at pop influence, however:  A long fiddle riff announces a rootsy, country treatment from the start and stays in drive for the rest of the song, allowing strains of steel to weave in and out. Complementing the production is the band’s best use of Reid and Neil’s vocals, tightly tying the three singers and their backing together.

Plucking out five singles from their debut disc since first hitting the airwaves at the end of 2009, The Band Perry has made the most of its slow and steady introduction to country fans and radio. Anyone who hasn’t warmed up to Kimberly’s theatrical twang by this iteration of charming quirkiness won’t find anything new to love here, but “Postcard from Paris” nicely sums up the band’s last two years of consistently off-kilter takes on young love all in one snapshot – with, in this case, the Eiffel Tower looming in the background.

Preview or purchase “Postcard in Paris”