Kimberly Perry's 'Bloom' EP cements strong moment for women in country's pop evolution

No better recent country music release highlights how the genre has benefitted from a decade of awareness, acceptance and denial of gender-based stereotypes than Kimberly Perry's new "Bloom" EP.

Now a solo artist following her platinum-selling and Grammy-winning background as one-third of the trio The Band Perry, she's working with a fellow 39-year-old -- Songs and Daughters label founder and CEO, plus award-winning singer-songwriter in her own regard, Nicolle Galyon.

The laser-sharp creative focus and effusive joy in the five-track release result from many unprecedented factors in mainstream country's recent history.

Galyon is a female independent label chief with mainstream distribution via Big Loud and Republic Records, working with Perry as a solo artist able to now wholly lean into being inspired by the 90s era creative excellence of artists like LeAnn Rimes, Deana Carter, Sarah McLachan, Jewel and, Sunny Colvin and Paula Cole.

Direct, not caustic songs like "Burn The House Down" and "Cry At Your Funeral" feature robust and intentional music blurring the sonic edges between rock's vibes and country's female storytelling traditions.

"Bloom" is an EP that has a just-completed second half forthcoming.

In regards to what her music means to the genre in full, Perry humbly assumes a position of leading and foretelling. She, alongside Galyon, describes the forthcoming era this way.

"We've evolved from being the tomatoes in the salad," jokes Perry in an allusion to 2015's "Tomatogate" scandal in which radio consultant Keith Hill drew an analogy to women's paltry numbers of plays on country radio with a salad's composition while sitting at Wedgewood-Houston area's Soho House Nashville on a Tuesday morning on the week her album is set to be released -- and two months before the expected date of birth of she and her husband Johnny Costello's first child.

Her single "If I Die Young, Part 2" doesn't just reimagine the legacy of her 13-year-old, seven-times platinum-selling hit. If viewed as one of many songs by many women emerging with hits defined by critical, streaming, or radio success of late, her ability to tap into a mutual, shared psyche of women looking to "honestly and openly use musical sentiments to embrace life's hits and misses and hit listeners in their ears and hearts."

"Kimberly's an irreplaceable signature voice in pop and country's subconscious that can't be replaced. Her music speaks for itself," says CEO Galyon to The Tennessean.

Galyon notes her work with Perry since the artist's return to Nashville post-COVID quarantine involving how women in Nashville, in general, have re-emerged as independent-minded businesswomen and creatives.

Because Americana and country's marketplaces are currently so robust and dynamic, they are not looking at each other as competitors. Instead, they're -- in real-time -- reconciling social and media images of artists with the humans behind the scenes who are passionate, heart-led survivors of creative chapters that, as Perry noted, are as much about celebrating hits as they are developing determination through sustaining one's self through the heartbreaks.

Her album arrives in a breakout season for women in country music and associated genres.

Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker and Shania Twain will all release albums in 2023. Moreover, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Margo Price and Amanda Shires all have recent releases. All of the second-tier of artists mentioned are over the age of 40.

Kimberly Perry and Nicolle Galyon are 39.

Perry mentions CMT's Next Women of Country program, an age-non-specific incubator of country's growing female artistry that has highlighted artists as young as 22-year-old Alana Springsteen, 34-year-old Brittney Spencer and 50-year-old Miko Marks in recent years.

"If you grew up before 1999, you inhaled and respected female singer-songwriter creativity as a vital part of your childhood. If you grew up after 1999, you are kinda caught looking at artists who didn't necessarily get the same opportunities as those who inspired their art," Galyon offers.

"Cool girl country is the wave right now," says Perry. Adds Galyon, "this moment, with this many artists available to excel, is a sweet spot [deserving to be capitalized upon]."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Kimberly Perry's 'Bloom' EP cements strong moment for women in country's pop evolution