Paul Cauthen named his second album
Room 41 after the hotel room he called home following the release of his debut album
My Gospel in 2016. He stayed in that lodging in Dallas for the better part of two years, living the life that resulted in the blown-out and frequently bizarre
Room 41.
Cauthen doesn't abandon the outlaw country of
My Gospel so much as force it into a disco, then stands back to see which one emerges victorious. Based on
Room 41, it's difficult to declare either side a clear winner.
Cauthen ping-pongs between dark ballads and gonzo country-rock fusions, dressing each extremity in overlapping layers of haunted harmonies, smeary synths, freeze-dried funk, and slamming backbeats. Drenched in alcohol and cocaine,
Room 41 seems allergic to daylight, and not overly concerned with whether a listener is on its wavelength, either. This can mean that
Room 41 may seem a bit alienating if it's played at the wrong time, when its low-rent melodrama seems not only skeevy, but a bit ill-formed. But if the mood strikes, it's a risky, compelling listen and certainly one of the oddest albums of 2019, regardless of genre.