In press materials for Say What You Like, Doug Paisley outlined his appreciation for the little ironies of folk and country music, the way words can "suspend a point or an idea without bringing it down too hard in any one place, like an X-wing in a dogfight." That inspiration runs rampant on his ninth full-length, a record that moves between genres and moods with a deft touch.
It's not quite country and it's not quite folk either, pulling elements from each to create a record suited for a bittersweet road trip or a sandy beach — music for windswept hair and a pensive, introspective mood.
The title track, alongside second single "Sometimes It's So Easy" offer a melancholic yet positive outlook on a situation where two people separate. Crucially, though, it never lands on an easy answer or a clean sense of closure — on Paisley's songs, things are rarely so cut and dry. Tracks like "Make It a Double" capitalize on Paisley's country twang, bringing Paisley's decade and a half living and recording in Nashville to the forefront. "Make it a double for her and me / I know the troubles I can still see," he croons, while a country beat sways happily in the background.
Folk and singer-songwriter influences take centre stage on tracks like "Wide Open Plain" and "I Wanted It Too Much," with the latter in particular exuding a melancholic, reflective feel that make you regret relationships that almost happened but never did. "Never asked myself am I okay? / I don't know where the story changed / There's so many ways to get rearranged," he muses, strumming a guitar. "Don't it look like everybody's coming up when you're on your way down?"
The album itself was pieced together from a trove of over 250 tracks that Paisley wrote over the last decade, distilled by Bahamas producer Afie Jurvanen to a sterling 11. From that enormous swath of songs, Paisley and Jurvanen uncovered an unflinchingly and unapologetically self-reflective journey of the heart, plumbing the depths of love, career and middle age.
(Outside)It's not quite country and it's not quite folk either, pulling elements from each to create a record suited for a bittersweet road trip or a sandy beach — music for windswept hair and a pensive, introspective mood.
The title track, alongside second single "Sometimes It's So Easy" offer a melancholic yet positive outlook on a situation where two people separate. Crucially, though, it never lands on an easy answer or a clean sense of closure — on Paisley's songs, things are rarely so cut and dry. Tracks like "Make It a Double" capitalize on Paisley's country twang, bringing Paisley's decade and a half living and recording in Nashville to the forefront. "Make it a double for her and me / I know the troubles I can still see," he croons, while a country beat sways happily in the background.
Folk and singer-songwriter influences take centre stage on tracks like "Wide Open Plain" and "I Wanted It Too Much," with the latter in particular exuding a melancholic, reflective feel that make you regret relationships that almost happened but never did. "Never asked myself am I okay? / I don't know where the story changed / There's so many ways to get rearranged," he muses, strumming a guitar. "Don't it look like everybody's coming up when you're on your way down?"
The album itself was pieced together from a trove of over 250 tracks that Paisley wrote over the last decade, distilled by Bahamas producer Afie Jurvanen to a sterling 11. From that enormous swath of songs, Paisley and Jurvanen uncovered an unflinchingly and unapologetically self-reflective journey of the heart, plumbing the depths of love, career and middle age.