Tension And Romance Go Hand In Hand In New Song From Brad Paisley

Considering all the tropes and cliches dominating country music right now, isn't it nice to look to Brad Paisley for his reliable ability to churn out great pieces of country music? His last tune, River Bank, dabbled in some of bro-countrys cliches, but did manage to be quite a bit of fun. Still, I hoped his newest album, Moonshine In The Trunk, would hold some deeper music from Paisley, and lo and behold, the second single from that album, Perfect Storm, achieves my hopes to a tee.
The set-up for the song is simple; Paisley talking about a girl who to him is "the perfect storm", using various weather metaphors to emphasize his love for this particular lady. One big thing I love about this song depicts a real relationship between two people, one filled with both strife and joy, not just admiring daisy dukes from a distance. It helps that Paisleys vocals on the song have wistful quality that enhances the lyrics.

In a shocking development for a single from Brad Paisley, a guitar plays a prominent part of the song, and as usual for guitar work from the singers songs, it's wonderfully done. It's a major part of the song, but is smartly dished out so that it can have a noticeable presence while not distracting from the lyrics and vocals. I'm especially fond of the opening bit that matches Paisleys singing by reinforcing a prevailing mood of reminiscence. Really helps make it stand apart from most other songs in Paisleys discography.

Paisley has had some of the best songs of his career centered around relationships, and while this one doesn't quite have the nuance of past masterpieces like Then and Waitin' On A Woman, it might just get to that kind of stature on the inevitable revisits I give to the song. Perfect Storm is certainly a fantastic effort from a country music master.