Doug Paisley Say What You Like (LP)

(Outside Music) 11 tracks

Since the release of his self-titled debut 15 years ago, Doug Paisley has made a name for himself with unflinchingly self-reflective songs of simple beauty.

Critics' reactions to his second album, Constant Companion, underscored that quality. MOJO, which named the album one of the ten best of 2010, saw its "rare purity" as "proof that an anti-star is born. Rolling Stone called it a "near-perfect singer-songwriter album," while UNCUT described it as "sure-footed and ageless...unagitated, sad and unerringly beautiful."
The "quiet and contemplative" nature of his last album, Starter Home, continued that trend, earning him a spot in the Top Ten New York Albums of 2018.

Doug's new record, "Say What You Like," highlights his songwriting prowess and explores new sonic territory with producer Afie Jurvanen (aka Bahamas). Selected from over 250 songs Paisley has written over the past decade, 11 tracks combine folk, country and pop sensibilities, showcasing his keen sense of melody and remarkable way with words. Here Doug is at his best - honest, open, searching - reassuring in his ability to convey the universal in the struggles of the individual.

In his meditations on the disappointments and inadequacies of love, Paisley deals intensely with middle age and the time "when to look young is to grow old."
"We are always somewhere in between, forever and on the run / Spending a lifetime, you and I, day by day." One can't help but feel that Paisley just has to write these songs - they're about emotional survival and the process of coming to terms with it. "As a songwriter," Paisley said earlier this year, "there's very little to gain and very little to lose these days, so I just work from the heart, there's no other motive."
It shows.