Black Paisley – Perennials
https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/black-paisley

Rating: A+

When you speak the name of Sweden in any group where the subject is music, it immediately creates a connection with AOR, Melodic Rock or metal, but the country has much more to offer and Black Paisley is proof of that. The band debuted in 2017 with the excellent “Late Bloomer” and now they return with "Perennials", an effort that consolidates the Swede’s sound, which mix elements of classic rock, hard rock and contemporary country with surprising results. If you are not yet familiar with the great music of these guys, get ready for a beautiful surprise.

The album has a number of excellent songs that feature variety without losing cohesion, as you can see at the beginning with the grueling rocker "I Want Your Soul", with the spectacular mid-pacer "Day By Day" and with the ballad " Sometimes "and its piano base. In three songs, the band shows its versatility and, mainly, provides heavy doses of good taste in 4-minute-shots, most of the time. Three highlights of the album worthy of maximum volume and your full attention in multiple auditions.

"Mother" brings weight with a foreground bass and simple pounding drum style, while "Miss Me" is a marvelous mid-pacer with stylish bass line and guitar in an engaging arrangement. This song might just be THE highlight from the album. Meanwhile, "Without You" is one of those poignant ballads, but quite different from the previous one and presentong a more intimate arrangement, which explains why I like it so much. Three more excellent songs, all worthy of those multiple auditions and maximum volume.

"Step Back" is another cool rocker, with guitars firing on all cylinders and powerful, rising drums along the verses, though I find it boring as hell in the chorus. With a simpler and bluesy arrangement (despite its tempo), "Trying" (another album highlight) sounds elegant, as well as the imposing "Out Of My Life" (another highlight) with its discrete keyboards and wraparound arrangement, punctuated by well placed  backing vocals.

In the final stretch it is worth mentioning the great "Alone" and its contemporary arrangement (especially in the backing vocals) and the catchy "Think", where the drums get all attention with its progression variations between verses and chorus. "Stronger" is a melancholy piano-and-voice ballad that closes the album sadly. A cool song that would work better as b-side, in my opinion. Anyway, check it out and draw your own conclusions.

In short, my dear friends, if you are tired of the predictability that the material emanated from Sweden often causes, Black Paisley (whose name came from Richie Sambora’s line of guitars with Fender) is an impressive surprise. With well-built songs and perfect vocals for the style (whose tone often resembles that of Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder), "Perennials" rescues the organic aspect so much missing in the albums we usually hear. It is also worth mentioning the excellent production of guitarist Ulf Hedin and keyboardist Robert Wiresnjö, balanced and lean, allowing the best elements of each song to shine. For all this, it is easy to point out "Perennials" as one of the best surprises of the year and a recommended acquisition for your collection.

Tracklist

01 I Want Your Soul
02 Day By Day
03 Sometimes
04 Mother
05 Miss Me
06 Without You
07 Step Back
08 Trying
09 Out Of My Life
10 Alone
11 Think
12 Stronger

By Juliano Mallon