New Song ‘Cocaine Country Dancing’ Out Today (14th June)
Today Paul Cauthen has announced his new album ‘Room 41’ will be released on September 6th via Lightning Rod Records, following several UK/European tour dates and festival appearances later this month, and ahead of a run of US shows with Randy Houser. Co-written entirely by Cauthen at The Belmont Hotel in Dallas, TX, “one of the most fascinating, and eccentric, new voices in country music” (Rolling Stone) lived every single line of this record, and he’s survived to tell the tale.
Cauthen, nicknamed “Big Velvet” for his smooth, baritone voice, credits that survival in no small part to his collaborators on the album, a wide range of writers, musicians, and producers who rallied around him. Recorded at Niles City Sound (Leon Bridges, Nicole Atkins) and Dallas’ Modern Electric studio, the 10 tracks feature a who’s-who of modern Texas musicians, including Matt Pence (Jason Isbell, Nikki Lane), Beau Bedford and Jason Burt.
Written during a stint spent living out of a suitcase in the artist-haven that is the Belmont, ‘Room 41’ chronicles Cauthen’s white-knuckle journey to the brink and back, a harrowing experience that landed him in and out of the hospital as he careened between ecstasy and misery more times than he could count. Cauthen has long been a pusher of boundaries (musical and otherwise), and ‘Room 41’ is no exception, with electrifying performances that blend old-school country and gritty soul with 70’s funk and stirring gospel. His lyrics take on biblical proportions as they tackle lust and envy, pride and despair, destruction and redemption, but these songs are no parables.
The introduction of album opener “Holy Ghost Fire” sounds more like Gnarls Barkley than Merle Haggard, and the ultra-funky “Cocaine Country Dancing” flirts with Prince, but the arrival of Cauthen’s unmistakable voice gives each song a singular life of its own. The sweeping “Prayed For Rain” serves as a reminder to be selfless in the face of our more egotistical instincts, while the heartrending “Slow Down” is a plea to treat ourselves with patience and kindness, and the R&B-influenced “Freak” recognizes that, deep down, we all want and deserve the same things out of life. Cauthen ultimately comes to terms with the person behind the persona on the autobiographical “Big Velvet,” grapples with his faith on the rousing “Give ‘em Peace,” and channels Roy Orbison on the gorgeous “Can’t Be Alone.”
Cauthen first earned his reputation as a fire-breathing truth-teller with the acclaimed roots rock band Sons of Fathers, but it wasn’t until the 2016 release of his solo debut, ‘My Gospel,’ that he truly tapped into the full depth of his prodigious talents. Vice/Noisey dubbed it “a somber reminder of how lucky we are to be alive,” while Texas Monthly raved that Cauthen “sound[s] like the Highwaymen all rolled into one: he’s got Willie’s phrasing, Johnny’s haggard quiver, Kristofferson’s knack for storytelling, and Waylon’s baritone.” The album landed on a slew of Best-Of lists at the year’s end and earned festival appearances from Austin City Limits and Pickathon to Stagecoach and Tumbleweed along with dates opening for Elle King, Margo Price, Midland, Cody Jinks, Social Distortion and more. He followed it up two years later with ‘Have Mercy,’ an EP which prompted Garden & Gun to dub him one of “Americana’s Next Great Voices.”
For more on Paul Cauthen, visit paulcauthenmusic.com.
‘ROOM 41’ TRACKLIST:
1. Holy Ghost Fire (Cauthen, Jason Burt)
2. Prayed For Rain (Cauthen, Ward Davis)
3. Cocaine Country Dancing (Cauthen, Burt)
4. Slow Down (Cauthen, Burt, Beau Bedford)
5. Big Velvet (Cauthen, Wesley Geiger)
6. Can’t Be Alone (Cauthen)
7. Freak (Cauthen, Bedford)
8. Angel (Cauthen, Bedford, Jonathan Tyler)
9. Give Em Peace (Cauthen)
10. Lay Me Down (Cauthen, Dan Cohen, Regan Schmidt)
UK/EUROPEAN TOUR DATES:
Sat., Jun. 15 | Södra Teatern | Sodermalm, Sweden
Mon., Jun. 17 | Broadcast | Glasgow, United Kingdom
Tues., Jun. 18 | Castle Hotel | Manchester, United Kingdom
Wed., Jun. 19 | Slaughtered Lamb | London, United Kingdom
Fri., Jun. 21 | Crofters Rights | Bristol, United Kingdom
Sun., Jun. 23 | Black Deer Festival | Tunbridge Wells, United Kingdom
