If you’re anywhere near Central Texas, chances are you already know what a dynamic songwriter Paige Plaisance is.. one of my personal favorites. Paige fills honky-tonks on a regular basis, but the sound she brings travels well beyond those dancehall walls. On her latest album, Swampwater, that musical world expands even further.
Raised on a farm near the muddy banks of the Mississippi River & now based in Austin, Plaisance continues to carve out a musical lane that demands attention. With a steady presence of horns, bluesy grooves & soulful textures throughout Swampwater, there’s a noticeable sense of growth & ambition without sacrificing the honky-tonk heart that got her here.
“Swampwater goes into more of my swampier, blues side, but it’s still a mixture of my love for the honky-tonk scene & my Louisiana background,” Plaisance says. She describes her sound as “swampytonkin’” – country music with a little blues & soul mixed in – and the term fits her style perfectly.
“Moving Out” is a soulful R&B number, while the title track settles into a haunting Louisiana groove, soaked in grease, grit & atmosphere. Yes, Swampwater is a country album, but plenty of these songs are happily country-adjacent. There’s enough here for the two-stepping crowd, but Plaisance & company offer everyone outside the dance floor enough hooks, lines & swagger to stick around.
Soul, funky swamp-tonkin’ blues & pop-leaning crossovers.. when we say pop, think less modern country radio & more of the great country-pop crossover artists of the ’70s & ’80s – Linda Ronstadt, Juice Newton & Bonnie Raitt.
Plaisance is operating at the top of the game. Her voice is sincere & vulnerable when it needs to be, but she’s equally capable of delivering these songs with confidence & attitude. The band is outstanding, bringing the album’s influences together & making an incredible record.
Recorded at Austin’s Finishing School & produced by Jonathan Tyler, Swampwater feels like an artist & her band hitting their stride & going big places.
