featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
March 19, 2023
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
In a recent Aquarium Drunkard piece, Toronto's Doug Paisley called out country's Gentle Giant Don Williams as an inspiration: that's a high-water mark that I would be quite content to spend my whole life looking up at. While Paisley's five LPs feature some of country music's trademark trappings, the songwriter doesn't consider himself a country artist. Like Williams, however, Paisley never leans too heavily into his songs, his chill approach seemingly effortless, his arrangements deceptively simple.
On Say What You Like, Doug Paisley is joined by producer Afie Jurvanen from BAHAMAS, also a presence on 2012's celebrated Constant Companion. Together, the collaborators pored over a rich reservoir of more than 250 songs, emerging with eleven that comprise the new collection. Joined by others from Jurvanen's band, Paisley delivers sounds that split the difference between country and folk and reveal their intricacies with repeated listenings.
More than any of his other records, Say What You Like is characterized by impressive guitar playing. Never especially flashy, careful ears will appreciate the filigree and twining of the instruments on songs like the title track. Joined by glassy pedal steel, the guitars recall Mark Knopfler as Paisley sings of memories of bygone times that come back to phase me. The guitars of "Wide Open Plain" play like prime Garcia, especially on the distinct solo: I felt the sting of / Deeds I'd done / By which I'd hoped to gain.
Few reviews will fail to mention Doug Paisley's trademark laid-back vibe, his low-strung JJ Cale drawl that you'll hear on "Make It a Double". While that wry restraint is a definite part of his artistry, it shouldn't be dismissed as lazy or lacking. Songs like "Rewrite History" exhibit the underappreciated nuance in Paisley's delivery, especially as he's complemented by backing vocalist Felicity Williams. In this capacity, songs can take on a Hiss Golden Messenger likeness: You do what you want to / And you do what you can / And when it can't be undone / You rewrite history over and over and over again. The fireside hush of "Almost" is sweet in its simplicity, a quality that carries into Paisley's vocal: Almost reached the top of the mountain / Almost sailed across the sea / Almost was somebody to someone who loved me.
Some of the standout tracks on Say What You Like boast a carefree country bounce. You've got that way of talking, Paisley sings on "If I Wanted To", When you've got nothing to say. The tune also delivers a fine guitar solo. "Sometimes It's So Easy" recalls 70s country radio, peppering its chorus with dit-doo-doo vocal scatting. "I Wanted It Too Much" adds wistful pedal steel and another great vocal: Don't it look like everybody's coming up / When you're on the way down.
A centerpiece of what may be his most eclectic record is the seven-and-a-half minute "Holy Roller", an exquisite wide-sky reflection: I look down from my satellite / As high as I can be / Never even left my room / It all comes to me. It's a demonstration of Doug Paisley's ability to perform beyond his reputation, to extend his enigmatic lyrics to new places. Where his excellent 2018 Starter Home delivered on his early promise, Say What You Like reminds us of the skill there is in simplicity, how sometimes it takes effort to sound effortless.
ROUTES-cast MARCH 19, 2023
- Amanda Fields, "Diamonds" What When and Without (Are and Be, 23)
- Greyhounds, "Without You (ft Sir Woman)" single (Aftershave, 23) D
- War & Treaty, "Yesterday's Burn" Lover's Game (Mercury, 23)
- Wood Brothers, "Line Those Pockets" Heart is the Hero (Honey Jar, Apr 14)
- Drugdealer, "Lip Service" single (Mexican Summer, 23) D
- Band of Heathens, "I Got the Time" Simple Things (BoH, 23)
- Calexico, "Black Heart (live at China Theatre)" Feast of Wire (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (Quarterstick, May 26) D
- Andrew Gabbard, "Yer Time'll Come" Cedar City Sweetheart (Colemine, Mar 24)
- John Andrews & the Yawns, "Never Go Away" Love For the Underdog (Woodsist, Apr 28)
- Chickasaw Mudd Puppies, "Roadkill" Fall Line (Strolling Bones, Apr 7)
- Lauren Morrow, "I'm Sorry" People Talk (Big Kitty, Mar 31)
- Opal Eskar, "And Yet Love Rules" Opal Eskar EP (Spiral Valley, May 19) D
- Esther Rose, "Safe to Run (ft Hurray for the Riff Raff)" Safe to Run (New West, Apr 21)
- Lonnie Holley, "Better Get That Crop in Soon" Oh Me Oh My (Jagjaguwar, 23)
- Roger Harvey, "Cowtown" single (Nickel Plate, 23) D
- Shelley Fairchild, "Fist City (ft Shamir)" single (Kill Rock Stars, 23) D
- Ruston Kelly, "Michael Keaton" The Weakness (Rounder, Apr 7)
- Bella White, "Flowers On My Bedside" Among Other Things (Rounder, Apr 21)
- Luke Laird, Lori McKenna & Barry Dean, "Heartache Medication" Songwriter Tapes Vol 2 (CN, 23)
- Josie Toney, "Too Long in Life" Extra (Like You Mean It, Apr 7) D
^ Doug Paisley, "Almost" Say What You Like (Outside, 23)
- Margo Price, "Change of Heart (ft Sierra Ferrell)" single (Loma Vista, 23) D
- Drayton Farley, "Twenty on High" Twenty on High (Hargrove, 23)
- Steve Earle, "Angie" Stoned Cold Country (This is Hit, 23)
- Rosanne Cash, "I Am a Pilgrim (ft John Leventhal)" I Am a Pilgrim: Doc Watson at 100 (FLi Records, Apr 28)
- Robbie Fulks, "Longhair Bluegrass" Bluegrass Vacation (Compass, Apr 7)
- Karen Jonas, "Drunken Dreamer" The Restless (Yellow Brick, 23)
- Parker Millsap, "So Far Apart" Wilderness Within You (Okrahoma, May 12)
- Joy Oladokun, "We're All Gonna Die (ft Noah Kahan)" Proof of Life (Verve, Apr 28)
- Savannah Conley, "Don't Make Me Reach" Playing the Part of Me is You (Conley, May 12) D
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