The Singles Jukebox

You’ve gone away, but you’ll come back on Interscope some day…

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[4.71]

Katherine St Asaph: I hope you like “Fight Song” and “Concrete Sky,” because this is their exact intersection. Some nice strings in the chorus, too, so throw in “Call Me Maybe” as well. People love that, right?
[7]

Lauren Gilbert: To make a comeback, don’t you have to…  go away?
[1]

Alfred Soto: Three years without an airplay #1? You better believe it. “I believe in what I am/I believe in what I was,” Kimberly Perry demands over staccato strings after challenging the audience with what sounds like a banjo plucked over enough reverb to fill the contents of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
[7]

Will Adams: A lighters-up inspiro-jam adorned with strings that’s well-intentioned enough. But the lead-in to the chorus “Imma comeback, I’m a comeback kid” is clumsy, not clever, and the pop sheen is extraneous, not sleek.
[3]

Katie Gill: This is a weird dichotomy. The minimalist verses are borderline Kelly Clarkson, something that would fit in right at home on an adult contemporary station, but the chorus? It’s PURE COUNTRY. Guitars come in blazing as the Band Perry falls back to their country harmonies. It’s interesting that they reference “If I Die Young” via the vocalization of “uh-oh, oh-oh” in the second verse; despite “If I Die Young” being truly abysmal, it bridged the country/pop crossover (or let’s be honest, country/adult contemporary crossover) much easier than this.
[3]

Cassy Gress: Kimberly Perry’s voice isn’t belty enough for this song, and neither is the instrumentation. The opening bass sits on that E too long; it’d be more effective to change down to an A about a bar before it does, and in the bridge, those guitar/drum hits are so weak. It’s like we’re listening to the unplugged cover, with no bombastic, powerful original to make it effective in comparison.
[3]

Anthony Easton: It must be strange to come from this thicket of perfect teenage melodrama and Glee-approved theatrics into a clearing of young adulthood. Some of the country critical community has been bitchy about The Band Perry’s new efforts, but the harmonies are tight and the song’s instrumentation does not get in the way, hinting toward a minimalist future while not being that far from what they were doing previously. Also, for a song that could be angry or vicious, this has a generous warmth. It makes me want to hear more.
[9]