Country singer Paul Cauthen brings a voice as big as Texas to Rose Park
They call him "Big Velvet," and within just a few bars of hearing Paul Cauthen sing, you know why.
The country singer sounds like a plush painting of Elvis come to life; Cauthen's craggy Texas baritone is powerful enough to induce a full-body shiver or cause an instance of continental drift.
While he sounds like the latest descendant from a lineage of singers such as Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, Cauthen wields his timeless timbre in wily fashion. He is both faithful to classic country and subverts its sound with a serious dose of 21st-century swagger.
Listeners will encounter the "Big Velvet" sound when Cauthen plays Rose Park this week.
More: Listen local: Burneys, Decadent Nation, R.E.M. tribute lead June concerts
On this year's "Country Coming Down," Cauthen establishes his vibe right away. Lead track "Country as F--k" qualifies as "a glitzy sideswipe at bro country," AllMusic scribe Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote.
The song unites crisp guitar to a serpentine groove, setting the stage for Cauthen to wind and wink his way through a list of bona fides. Among the best lines on a song full of them: "Call me Lil Nas / Call Me Tim McGraw / Not a moment too soon / I had horses in the stall" and "If I don't catch a check / I'm gonna sell my wife's gun."
Other early album highlights include "Caught Me at a Good Time," with its insistent pulse and roadhouse flair; Cauthen's voice rises — in volume and range — ever-so-slightly, underlining his intentions with the lyric "The way you move them hips is hypnotizing / Honey, take my hand, let's make some lovin'."
Elsewhere, "Country Clubbin'" nimbly unites honky tonk and dance club feels while "Champagne & A Limo" sounds like an awards-show fever dream.
The bio on Cauthen's website is refreshingly self-aware, gesturing toward his ability to sell a softer song: "But just when you buy in — and happily convert — to Cauthen's brand of unapologetic hedonism, the soul comes out," the section notes.
Perhaps the best example of that soul arrives with "Roll On Over," a piano-driven number that addresses a lover with one foot out the door. Cauthen offers something resembling sharp rebuke before seeking assurances that he's good enough.
Sounding like a heartbroken gospel singer sifting life's rubble for a hymn, he sings, "If I was a poor man / Never owned any land / Sang in a country band / Would you come and stay the night?"
More: Sip and listen: Don't miss these Summer Music on The Blufftop concerts
This mix of swagger and sadness both places Cauthen in company with country's greats, and comes through a lyrical and literal voice that doesn't quite sound like anyone else.
Cauthen plays at 7 p.m. Thursday; tickets are $30 to $35. Find more details at https://rosemusichall.com/.
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. Find him on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Country singer Paul Cauthen brings voice as big as Texas to Rose Park
