Just like the old days.

Today, Brad Paisley  released a new song called “Treading Whiskey,” which is part of his current, ongoing project, Tacklebox. Rather than dropping a traditional album all at once, he is putting out unreleased tracks from the vault that are either from his ’90s catalog, or were written more recently and were inspired by that sound.

The last time we had a real project from Brad was over nine years ago, when he released Love and War in 2017. He had announced an album called Son of the Mountains set for release in 2023, though that never came to fruition, so it’s easy to imagine some of these songs might have been meant for that album.

Brad explained that he wants Tacklebox to feel like his fans have a “direct link” to his Dropbox, or a “playlist that never ends”:

“I see this ‘project’ as never-ending. It’s almost like the fans have a direct link to my Dropbox or to a playlist that never ends. We are calling it ‘Tacklebox; because it’s a box full of hooks, country lyric hooks.

In this digital age, I have every song I’ve ever written at my fingertips. This project gave us a license to dig back into the catalog of songs that were never released, that feel like a time period, a style of writing, a sound, and nostalgia. We went back into the studio to record or re-record at The Castle in Franklin, TN, the same place where several of my first few albums were recorded.

When I first started writing and recording music, I couldn’t have dreamed of the ability to put something out instantly for the fans.”

Though I will always be partial to a fully fleshed out, complete album, a lot of these new(ish) Paisley songs are really good, and this one definitely reminds me of the stuff he was putting out at the height of his career, à la Mud On the Tires and that golden era.

“Treading Whiskey” was written by Brad with Chris DuBois, and features tons of steel and fiddle, as he laments a solo trip to the bar following heartbreak, admitting that he can’t look at the mirror “that faces the bar” or be near the dance floor because it all reminds him of a former flame… the only thing he can seem to do is tread some whiskey, hence the title:

“I had to move to a table, just past the dance floor
‘Cause I can’t stand the mirror that faces the bar
And I told the waitress to bring me the bottle
‘Cause I don’t like waiting and the walk’s just too far

It looks like I’m in for another long night
Of drownin’ your memory and wastin’ my time

‘Cause, girl, since you left me
I’ve been prayin’ that someday I’ll hold you again
Oh, I guess that I’ll be
Treadin’ whiskey until then
Treadin’ whiskey until then”

It’s hard to reinvent a whiskey-drinking country song, but this one feels so reminiscent of his music that I fell in love with back in the early-to-mid 2000s, so I’m very much here for the more traditional sound and very nostalgic feel.

Do yourself a favor and check it out:

“Treading Whiskey”

Last week, he put out my favorite one yet, a good old fashioned duet with Miranda Lambert called “Someone Else’s Arm’s”: