Americana award-winning singer-songwriter Jason Isbell after his sensational album South Eastern (2013) has once again called in Dave Cobb to produce, and on keeping it simple, lyrics sharp and melodies gently flowing it is business as usual.
Fuelled with hooky, rhythmic beat “If It Takes A Lifetime” opens the album in jaunty fashion. Peppered with country guitar and a general warm full sound it seems to suggest a more reserved country album was on the cards this time. This is before he gets serious via spelling binding, passion dripping mind jolting “24 Frames”. It is one of those unique songs where the listener doesn’t know if it’s the ‘killer’ lyrics, hypnotic beat or Isbell’s immaculate vocal performance that clinches it. Wonderful stuff.
It doesn’t stop there, because Isbell comes down hard artistically on “Flagship”, it in turn if followed by the intriguing and urgent reflective ode “How To Forget”. While with muddy sounding electric guitar splashed all over it “Palmetto Rose” brings a little bit of attitude to the table. Strong and resilient to the end Isbell speaks of growing up in small towns, and general everyday struggles people ensure no matter where they live; for love, loss, joy and disappointment is universal.
“Children Of Children” is a strong slow measured track before he picks up the tempo on the question prompted “The Life You Chose” as he treads a style not too dissimilar to John Fulbright, and this could also be said of “Something More Than Free”. On which he speaks of being lucky to have a job, even though come Sunday he is too tired to go to church and with more cut to the heart torn lyrics tough as they come, “Speed Trap Town” holds nothing back as he speaks of loss. Do we hear hints, influences of Springsteen in his style of writing (and possibly vocally)?
Unafraid to let his influences filter through, the former Drive-By Truckers vocalist, songwriter’s second solo record is a wonderful and beautiful piece of work. Albeit, some songs are sleepers, and take a little longer than some to show their true worth as in, “Hudson Commodore” as a West Coast country sound of Hillman and Desert Rose of the 1980s washes over one’s mind. You can add final track, melancholy number “To A Band That I Loved” to those attributed as slow burners.
The record isn’t over-cooked either, with the perfect accompaniment of players involved, Cobb (percussion, acoustic guitar), Isbell (electric, slide, acoustic, hi-strung and resonator guitar), Derry Deborja (piano, mellotron, organ, synthesizer, whirlitzer), Amanda Shires (fiddle, strings, harmony vocals) and Sadler Vaden (electric guitar, backing vocals).
Maurice Hope