Three years ago, The Band Perry released their debut album that spawned country-pop megahit “If I Die Young” and garnered them a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Pioneer, the band’s sophomore release, is darker, louder, and better, sending the singing siblings into musical territory where they probably never expected to find themselves.
The record’s first five tracks are its best. “Better Dig Two” and “Done”  are rowdy foot-stompers that get your blood pumping. (However, the former  straddles the fine line between romantic and anti-feminist too recklessly for my taste. Liberal Yalies, listen with caution.) “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely” is your standard country ballad: pretty, impersonal, and perfect for radio. The title track, perhaps the mellowest on the record, appeals to “If I Die Young” fans, while “Forever Mine Nevermind” is the opposite. A breakup anthem in the style of Taylor Swift, the song provokes a sassy sing-a-long with lyrical gems like: “Then my brothers broke the bad, bad news that you broke the truth / So I smashed my right hand open when I smashed the nose on you.”

The other songs aren’t bad, but they don’t demonstrate musical growth like the first five. “Mother Like Mine” could be mistaken for one of Carrie Underwood’s first songs, and “Chainsaw,” with nonsensical lyrics like “Love is shady, love is tragic. It’s hard to bury a hatchet holding a chainsaw,” was a stupid concept to begin with. The songs alternate between soaring ballads and upbeat rompers, yet all are indistinguishable within their country trappings.

Still, Kimberly Perry’s sweet and innocent voice makes these songs worth listening to for country and pop fans alike. It is the first half of the album, though, that has the most potential for crossover success.