The Canadian singer-songwriter Doug Paisley began his career playing straight bluegrass. His first appearance in America was part of the duo Dark Hand and Lamplight where Paisley's traditional fingerpicking was accompanied by live overhead drawings by the artist Shary Boyle. His new album "Constant Companion," is a quiet wonder, fairly soft rock that wouldn't shake any lifelong fan of Jackson Browne or James Taylor. He had earned comparisons to darker, more storied writers like Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, and while it is very early in his career to make any firm predictions, he seems to harmonize with them in one important respect - he's not afraid to set easy sounds against hard truths. As his songs repeat, they reveal something behind the anodyne aspects of the music - a patient, practical mind that does not deceive itself about the difficulties of love. Paisley will lull you with his good nature, but he won't rock you to sleep after that.