Eric Paslay, ‘If the Fish Don’t Bite’ – Song Review

Country newcomer Eric Paslay has recorded the sort of earworm you don’t want to evict. ‘If the Fish Don’t Bite’ is as easy of a listen as crickets in the night.

Part of the appeal is the tight and familiar lyric, but it’d be a mistake to overlook the warmth of Paslay’s vocals. His voice is unique — with a sort of whiskey cask resonance — but not so unusual that it overshadows the sweet story.

“Got a bobber floatin’ in the water with a minnow dancin’ on a hook / Your singin’ to the radio, bare feet in the brook / Your prettiest catch I could have ever caught / I love you so / Cause you love comin’ with me to this fishin’ hole,” Paslay sings to open the song. The singer is hardly a Nashville newbie, having written a number of songs for artists like Lady Antebellum, Love and Theft and Jake Owen (‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night’).

The chorus goes: “And if the fish don’t bite / That’ll be alright, alright / If the fish don’t bite / We can lay beneath the moonlight, moonlight / If we don’t do any good at fishin’ / Maybe we can catch a little kissin’ tonight if the fish don’t bite.”

Layers of backing vocals never interfere with the story. The song may not win recognition at year-end ceremonies, but with any luck it will become the one country music fans find themselves singing most this summer. A few will even start shopping for fishing poles and bobbers.

Listen to Eric Paslay’s ‘If the Fish Don’t Bite’