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With his fifth studio album Book of Paul set to arrive April 3, Paul Cauthen is giving fans another bold preview of what’s to come. The latest offering, “Chain Smoking” featuring Delaney Ramsdell, is a slow-burning duet steeped in heartbreak, grit and dive-bar atmosphere — the kind of track that lingers long after the last note fades.
Co-written by Cauthen alongside Beau Bedford and Jason Burt, “Chain Smoking” unfolds as an aching barstool ballad, capturing the heavy stillness that follows a breakup. Finger-picked acoustic guitar, weary steel and a smoky roots-country sway frame Cauthen’s unmistakable “Big Velvet” baritone, while Ramsdell’s counterpoint adds a haunting tenderness. The result is a vivid portrait of romantic devastation, equal parts restraint and roar.
“Ain’t it funny how two things go together … like chain smoking with a broken heart,” Cauthen sings — a line that perfectly captures the song’s bittersweet sting.
Book of Paul promises to showcase Cauthen at his most unapologetic and self-assured. With classic country grit colliding with gospel power and rhinestone-studded rock-and-roll edge, the album finds the fiercely independent artist returning to his East Texas roots while wrestling with themes of darkness, redemption and raw self-examination. Cauthen co-wrote 12 of the album’s 13 tracks and even steps in on bass and drums for select cuts, doubling down on his hands-on creative vision.
Earlier releases from the project hint at the album’s wide-ranging sonic palette. The bronc-bucking “Texas Swagger” arrived with a striking music video filmed at the BuckTown bull riding compound of legendary rodeo champion JB Mauney, while “Bayou By You” leans into soul-pop and gospel twang. Meanwhile, “Ain’t No Crime” delivers hypnotic outlaw-country romance with Cauthen willingly locked up in love.
Production on Book of Paul is split between Ryan Tyndell, Steve Rusch and Sam Martinez, with additional contributions from Fustin and Nate Ferraro — a team that mirrors Cauthen’s genre-blurring sensibilities.
Since his 2016 solo debut My Gospel, Cauthen has carved out a singular lane somewhere between Waylon Jennings, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. Along the way, he’s collaborated with artists as varied as Shaboozey, Margo Price, Orville Peck, Cody Jinks and Lana Del Rey, building a reputation for raucous live shows packed with steel-toed rhinestones and gothic-leaning roots rock.
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