(Folk-Rock) Doug Paisley (feat. Feist) - Constant Companion - 2010, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For years Doug Paisley gigged around Toronto covering classic country songs in a series of curiously named acts such as Live Country Music and the Stanley Brothers: A Loving Tribute. After spending some time as one half of Russian Literature, he opened for Bonnie "Prince" Billy as Dark Hand and Lamplight, which involved playing acoustic songs while an artist displayed paintings behind him. Already he's had a storied career, so it's odd to think of his 2008 self-titled album as his debut and even harder to think of Constant Companion as only his second release. Both sound effortless and insightful, full of songs that draw you in with their peaceful, easy surface and then dump a big load of hurt on you.
Country remains Paisley's foundation, providing both a subject (relationships in various states of disrepair) and a musical approach that favors straightforward arrangements and spare instrumentation. But the twang in his voice has softened into a gentle burr that recalls the 1970s heyday of outdoorsy singer-songwriters, without putting too fine a point on the nostalgia. He's neither quite country nor folk anymore, but something in between, something that tends to get dismissed as sonic wallpaper by those who aren't willing to dig beyond the surface of the music. In that regard, Constant Companion exceeds Doug Paisley in terms of both the serenity of the surface and the hard truths lurking just beneath, drawing out more hummable melodies as well as more stinging observations. The pedal steel that helped define his debut's sense of isolation is gone, replaced this time by Garth Hudson on keys. The former Band member's counterintuitive piano and organ riffs enliven "No One But You" and "End of the Day", alternately taunting and consoling as he acts as a foil for Paisley-- a gremlin in the works. Subtle harmonies by Leslie Feist, Jennifer Castle, and Julie Faught of the Pining alleviate the loneliness only minimally.
Death and departure loom over Constant Companion, infusing even the smallest moments with a sense of loss and dread. "At the end of the long, long day/ Come go with me in the blue and the gray," he sings on "End of the Day". It sounds like a warm invitation until his real meaning sinks in: "There's no up there's no down/ And there's no way around." Those metaphysics-minded lines don't amount to a suicide pact necessarily, but they do comprise a chilling acknowledgement that every relationship inevitably ends, whether in tears or in death. All you have is yourself, that quietly disturbing album cover attests (seriously, take another look at it). And yet, Paisley's mood isn't woe-is-me dejection, but rather a stoic resignation to the fact that you're ultimately your own constant companion, for better or for worse.
By Stephen M. Deusner
***
"The thorn is deep inside me," Doug Paisley sings in Come Here My Love. The thorn, a deep-rooted tristesse, is the constant companion of the title and, like many people with a lingering condition, the Canadian singer-songwriter is willing to live side by side with the pain. The nine songs that make up Paisley's second full-length album, heard on his recent tour with Bonnie Prince Billy, are rooted thematically in Oh Lonesome Me-country music but these are not Don Gibson. These are songs of sadness bottled up and shaken, creating an exceptional alt-country album. In Don't Make Me Wait, a duet with his incredible fellow Torontonian (Leslie) Feist, he says: "You'll learn to love again 'cause somehow in the end it's so easy for you just to move on." Somehow, though, you have the feeling Paisley's not so interested in moving on. He's keen on mining the hurt, exploring its causes and effects. The verse has this killer line: "Don't make me wait if you know you're through tryin'." Paisley's lyrics are as crisp and clean as his guitar work, his vocals as rich as Ian Tyson's. And that Hammond organ that sounds vaguely familiar? That's Garth Hudson, of the Band, but with a much lighter character than we're accustomed to and that emphasises the upper registers.
by Raymond Beauchemin
***
If it wasn't for the internet, I may have never discovered Doug Paisley (no relation to the American country super star Brad Paisley). I was scouring an alt country music message board back in early 2009, and a poster from the UK wrote, "Oh my! This is the stuff people. Canadian singer songwriter who brings to mind Guy Clark and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy." Whoa! Like me, Paisley lives in Toronto, and he regularly plays near where I live. And yet, it took an internet post from across the pond to discover his music. Clearly, I need to get out more often.
I was completely enamored with his 2009 self-titled debut, and ranked it as one of my favorite albums of 2009. The album opens with a heartbreaking, blubber-into-your-beer, country song called "What About Us?" "Cause I just ain't no good alone." Gulp. "We Weather" is a tender love song about making it through the rough patches in a relationship, and contains some beautiful pedal steel work. "Digging in the Ground" has a wonderfully unique piano lick. "Take My Hand" is about reconciliation. Overall, a fantastic alt country album.
Paisley released his sophomore album Constant Companion on October 12. This album is less on the twangy side, more on the singer/songwriter, indie/folk side, and features some well known musical collaborators such as Garth Hudson of The Band, Basil Donavon of Blue Rodeo, and Canadian pop star Leslie Feist. Feist and Paisley perform a beautiful duet on "Don't Make Me Wait." In the lead track "No One But You" the narrator tries to get his friend or lover to have a little more self-confidence. "At the End of the Day" reflects on the day's events while watching the sun set. The album doesn't have a stand-out track like "What About Us," but overall it is a more consistent album than his debut. If you like soft, dreamy folk music, you should definitely check this one out.
Interestingly, Paisley has received more press in the US and the UK than he has in Canada, possibly because his label No Quarter is based in Brooklyn. Publications like MOJO, Spin, The New Yorker, and the New York Times all lauded Paisley's debut and sophomore releases.
Paisley did a live session November 12 on CBC radio's Q, where he got host Jian Ghomeshi to sit in on drums. Paisley talks about working with the legendary Hudson, how excited he is about his Canadian tour, and performs three songs from Constant Companion. You can download the Q podcast or listen to the episode on-line here.
Paisley continues his first major Canadian tour Wednesday night in Hamilton, Ontario. He is touring with another excellent Toronto folk-ish performer, Bahamas.
by Rockstar Aimz
***
“Singer-songwriter” is the laziest of labels. Don’t tell the other critics out there that I’m letting you in on that one. After all, isn’t virtually every artist a singer-songwriter? Doesn’t every band have at least one? Still, we know what it usually means: someone with an acoustic guitar, singing songs about love and loss, with varying results. In that sense, yes, Doug Paisley fits the singer-songwriter bill. But, please, don’t let the label limit the impact of his second LP, Constant Companion. It’s a record of subtle beauty, of a soft ache, the kind that seeps right into you and, before you know it, it’s settled deeper than you’d have thought possible upon the first spin.
Paisley’s compositions are of the tried-and-true sort, strummed or finger-picked acoustic guitar, supplemented by light organ drones, simple bass grooves, and a backbone of kick drum and brushed snare. And, of course, his wonderful voice. Paisley’s not a showy vocalist by any means, but he imbues each syllable with an effortless weight. If it’s a cliché to call a singer-songwriter “heartfelt”, well, fine. But here we have it. Paisley’s the kind of performer who can sell a line like, “Don’t make me wait / If you feel your love dying / Just turn away” and make the words seem at once universal and intensely personal. The songwriting here, spare and confident, never insists upon its profundity. Rather, listening to Constant Companion gives one the impression of having run across a private treasure, a dusty LP in a bin tucked away at a country yard sale.
Yet Paisley’s not quite undiscovered. Garth Hudson of The Band lends his hands to the organ here, and Leslie Feist provides vocals on two tracks. It’s easy to see why those artists believe in Paisley’s work enough to offer their talents. Songs like “End of the Day”, “What I Saw”, and “No One But You” were meant as much for early summer drives as they were for dark rain-ridden afternoons. When Paisley sings, “Gonna get by / Gonna get through / When the well runs dry / I’m gonna crawl to you”, you know what he’s saying, and it sounds new, even if you think you may have heard something similar somewhere before.
That may be the greatest accomplishment of Constant Companion: sounding at once fresh and rooted in years of well-mined tradition. Paisley brings a quiet energy to these songs, even though most of them pass through your speakers with little more than a hush. He may not bring the rafters down with volume, but he’ll find his own way, mark his words.
by Corey Beasley
***
Out of all the singing-songwriting folksy chaps out there, why listen to Doug Paisley over any others? Bob Dylan, Jeff Buckley, Neil Young… obviously these are incredibly iconic and influential artists, but in a genre full to the brim with everything from pub acts to world class superstars, where does his new record Constant Companion fit in?
Firstly, it’s probably more fair to draw comparisons to artists such as Ryan Adams, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Will Oldham with this album. You know: that sweet, dreamy, back-porch-rocking-chair style of americana that’s probably considered ‘alt-country’ these days. It works, but like every great invention, you want it to stand out from the crowd; something that the LP only rarely considers.
Take opener ‘No One But You,’ for example: it begins with a delicate finger-picked acoustic guitar with this soft, gentle drumming in the background that will certainly have you tapping your fingers, but it’s so textbook that most listeners will probably pay it no mind. Paisley’s vocals are undoubtedly good, and while his lyrical skills – ‘who would you be so cruel / to someone like you? / no one but you,’ aren’t the finest in the universe, they’re not trying to be either.
It does get very formulaic from here on out, but simplicity acts as the backbone of the record. You do get some fairly whimsical synths throughout the verses to add some more depth to the melodies, but that tends to be as adventurous as the record gets.
Rebecca Parnell, who reviewed Paisley’s self-titled debut on this very site last year, described that record as “one of tradition and old time soul.” ‘Constant Companion’ is no different. It delivers exactly what you expect from Paisley and the alt-country scene, and it asks for no more either. The problem is, there’s just better alt-country records out there.
A sophomore album can be a difficult burden to carry, and it’s almost like Paisley realized this right from the get-go: the last few tracks are far less awkward (‘O’ Heart’ and ‘I Stand Alone’ are definitely two of the standout tracks on the album) as the melodies become more interesting (the addition of piano is one that’s welcomed at this stage) and just so much more relaxed. It’s a shame that by the end of ‘Come Here and Love Me,’ it’s all over, as it feels like Paisley has only just warmed up.
‘Constant Companion’ definitely has it’s moments, but ultimately, it’s nothing you haven’t heard before. I can’t describe this album in simpler terms. For fans of the first record, it’ll have your attention in places throughout; but it’s certainly not going to be your constant companion for the rest of the year.
by Tom Walters