Album Review – Paul Cauthen’s “Black on Black”

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As a fan of the independent country music that never gets played on commercial country radio, that rarely gets recognized at major awards shows, and that faces an uphill battle compared to the music of mainstream country, you take a lot of pride and ownership in what independent country music has become, and how it got here.

Quality songwriting that shares meaningful and substantive stories, emotions, and perspectives is an important focus of the music. Standing up for the roots of country and the greats that came before is an important value too. So is resisting the digital intrusion in what’s supposed to be organic expressions performed by humans, while also rejecting trend chasing, or putting commercial concerns above artistic ones.

Generally speaking, all of these maxims are adhered to by most all of the incredible performers who make up the independent country and roots music community, with very few exceptions. It’s this integrity, quality, and artistry that has made independent country strong enough to rise up and challenge the mainstream for market share, despite not having the same access to mass media and infrastructure.

And then there is Paul Cauthen.

Paul Cauthen is not a unimportant or insignificant character in country music. His footprint and fan base are impressive. His music clearly comes with a wide measure of appeal. He’s a top tier name on the independent country festival circuit, and a strong draw on tour. He came up in the Austin scene with the duo Sons of Fathers. He produced the first Luke Bell album—the one you’ve probably never heard.

But Paul Cauthen is also the performer who most fundamentally gives into the id and the ego. He’s the guy who puts vapid entertainment value ahead of artistic integrity. He’s the one who bends genre, and not as a creative endeavor, but as a commercial pursuit. He’s the one who incorporates cliché dance beats into what’s supposed to be country music, claiming to be uncaring of genre, while also exploiting its channels for attention.

Paul Cauthen is the artist that mainstream defenders can point to as patent hypocrisy from independent fans, and be correct. His latest album Black on Black isn’t the first time Cauthen has participated in trend chasing, and giving into his lowest desires as an artist and performer. That ship sailed most illustratively with his 2022 album Country Coming Down. But the new album establishes that this is who Paul Cauthen is, at least for this era of his career.


Paul Cauthen isn’t country music. He’s some sort of derivative and shallow version of country couture. It’s country as surface coating, and as a style motif appropriated by the ultra-hip to be considered cool in the moment, only to be cast off for the next trend when it comes along. This is the reason Cauthen has collaborated with Shaboozey and Diplo. Cauthen reminds you of that clique of Christian kids in high school who always had the best drugs, and got away with everything because of the fundamental unfairness of life. Paul Cauthen is the embodiment of us all giving into our worst desires.

No different than Luke Bryan, Cauthen simply gauges what the audience wants, and gives them more of it. That’s not creativity. He’s a dancing monkey. But don’t take that strictly as criticism. Many people point, laugh, and dance along. The reason Cauthen continues to lean into this approach, and away from the songwriting and substance of his early career is because it’s working, and clearly so.

Unquestionably, songs like the EDM-infused “Hot Damn,” the repetitive and inane “Sweetheart from the Trailer Park,” or the bellicose title track “Black on Black” build into boisterous moments for an audience who buys into the Paul Cauthen experience entirely, sometimes excusing the guilty pleasure of his music as being infused with sarcasm. Perhaps that was the case for some of his previous songs such as “Country as F-ck” or “F-ck You Money.” But with Black on Black, that’s a tough argument to sell. This is who Paul Cauthen is now.

The EDM dance songs with country coverlets were all the early singles from the new album, emphasizing what Cauthen and his camp wanted to highlight from Black on Black. But it’s also important to emphasize some of the “better” selections from the album. “Speaking in Cursive” tells the story of growing up in a broken home, and begins with great promise.

But like so much of Black on Black, the production from the otherwise highly-regarded Beau Bedford bogs down in flashy and shallow movements meant to tantalize the public, getting in the way of any deeply meaningful moments. Jason Burt is also credited as producer on some of the album’s most derivative tracks.

Paul Cauthen also explores faith on the album, with songs like “Angels & Heathens” and “Innocent” speaking to the duality of human morality, leading to the outright reverent “To Whom Do You Belong” co-written with Cauthen’s old Sons of Fathers partner, David Beck, and originally appearing on their 2013 album.

But arguably, Cauthen’s Christian virtue signaling doesn’t make his trespasses any better. It makes them worse by adding a layer of hypocrisy to the entire experience, while his affected Johnny Cash voice so obviously evidenced by listening back to early Sons of Fathers material adds another layer of insincerity. Meanwhile, all of the flashy, pop-infused pageantry overshadows the substance of other independent country artists getting relegated to side stages and early slots show Paul Cauthen puts on.

It might feel like faint praise among all the strong criticism, but Paul Cauthen is certainly good at what he does. This is the reason it draws a crowd, just like Luke Bryan. Anyone dismissing the entertainment value of Black on Black or his live shows is participating in their own false narratives. But we know that Cauthen is capable of so much better, because we heard it earlier in his career.

As opposed to venturing down the easy path of mindless entertainment, if Cauthen would have stuck to his guns, perhaps he could have ascended to the same stature he enjoys today by joining the rising tide raising all independent country artists. Instead, he took the short cut. And that’s why we offer strong, but respectful criticism. Because when the sands of time wash over the current moment in country, it will only leave a few legacies standing.

1 1/2 Guns DOWN (3.5/10)

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