A Review of 'Electric Park Ballroom' by Paisley Fields

Written by River, one of our film & music writers, and edited by Udita, one of our editors!

Like many folks from rural areas, I was raised with country music on the radio and CMT playing music videos well past the time MTV stopped. Then I continued to listen to country after the uber patriotism shift post-9/11 and through pop bleeding into country becoming a mainstay but never felt represented by most of the genre. Mind you, I didn’t realize I was any flavor of queer until late 2017 so I could never quite peg why I didn’t see myself in country. Since coming out I’ve dug to find myself in the genre I grew up with. Thankfully, small internet communities exist and the creation of sites like Country Queer are part of it. It was thanks to Country Queer that I found Paisley Fields (he/they) and Electric Park Ballroom.

Before I start digging into Electric Park Ballroom I’m going to come right out and say that it’s an album that you would expect to be labeled as country and that is what I love about it even as someone who prefers Outlaw Country. Coming in at a runtime of a little over 30 minutes, Electric Park Ballroom will carry you on a journey.

Ride Me Cowboy- I absolutely love how Paisley came in strong with an explicitly queer bar song. The simplicity of the instruments do a solid job of boosting Paisley’s voice requesting to see ‘what’s under that hood’. It’s a sort of refreshing to hear a hook up song be so country bar and so queer at the same time. “Ride Me Cowboy” is a song I could see a Pride line dance too.

Other Boys- This is a pretty quick shift. The musical booking is still very folk and not a big deviation from the previous track but Paisley is singing about being ‘not like the other boys’ and some signs of his queerness at a young age. It’s very upbeat but you can still feel the loneliness and isolation of queer youth in the lyrics. The upbeat banjo is finally met with pride and joy as the song closes out. It’s a beautiful journey.

Shuffling Fool- This is the first song to leave the country/folk feeling that I expected throughout the entire album. I’ve seen this best described as ‘country disco’ and that is pretty correct. Making a song about dancing a clear dance song was a great choice. It makes me want to dance while Paisley is telling a whole story about a single-line dance in this song. The fade out to orchestra is almost haunting.

Ramblin’ Ranger- Now we’re back to a country heartbreak ballad with “Ramblin’ Ranger”. Again, very simple instrumentals which benefit the song. A song reminiscent of days of country past while crooning about the one who got away by running away from themself. This song could be applied to someone you loved and lost or the realization you’ve lost yourself along the way.

Time’s Up, Brad- Paisley coming right out the gate setting up a beautiful friendship with a shift, the beat swinging back up. Then the call back to The Chicks song “Goodbye Earl” pulled me right in. You hear revenge songs from women all the time in country music so this is a new take. Short, simple, and to the point.

Winter Night- This starts out sounding a little more modern country and instrumentally robust. It sets up a beautiful, romantic winter night with someone you love. Let me tell you, as someone who grew up with snowy winters, there is nothing like Paisley is describing in “Winter Night”.

Thunder Road- Not going to lie, I was not emotionally prepared for this song. The whole time you know it’s about a terrible car accident but the chorus is hauntingly beautiful. You don’t often hear poetry in the middle of music like that. Halfway through you get slapped with how the narrator fits in and it throat punched me in a manner that only can happen if you too were too young and didn’t know what to say so you squeezed your mama’s hand.

You & the Country- I was very excited to see Sam Gleaves featured on this song as he is another queer folk artist I enjoy. Turns out Sam and Paisley are friends and work together a lot. “You & the Country” is a happy little song that celebrates love and a simple life. You’re definitely not wasting your life away if you have your needs met and you’re surrounded by love.

Stay Away From My Man- Paisley Fields is actually a touring member of the age old Lavender Country who is featured on this track. It was jarring, to me, to hear a jealous monogamy song because most of the queers I’m around are not monogomous but it’s still a fun song. This could easily be a bar dance song as well. It’s incredibly short at 2:06 but still not the shortest track on Electric Park Ballroom.

Marigold- The closing and shortest track coming in at 1:06. “Marigold” sounds like a song literally about flowers and nature but this quiet poetry is about resilience. I find it’s a beautiful way to round out an album about being who you are.

Now we have to wait until August for another Paisley Fields album, Limp Wrist. The taste we’ve already been given promises more of the themes of Electric Park Ballroom and I’m ready.

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This piece was written by one of our film & music writers, River.

This piece was edited by one of our editors, Udita. Reach them at @wilde_woolf on Instagram.

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