Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
The Nashville Sound
2017
Spotify

It seems like a write this review once or twice a year. A singer songwriter comes to down and blows away what songwriting is all about and changes my perspective. That's how it felt when i listened to Something More Than Free Jason Isbell's record from 2015, an album that shifted the way I listened to and appreciated country music. His observations are so nuanced and when he inhabits a character in his songs, He really becomes them telling the story from their point of view even if his own emotions slips in here and there. There are also the highly personal songs like "Tupelo" where he tries to deal with his issues with addiction and how good that release actually feels. This new album The Nashville Sound recorded with the band The 400 Unit, is bigger than his last, but is also missing some of those incredible revelations. On this record Isbell, tends to fall back on territory he has already explored before including many songs about personal pain. "White Man's World" in particular feels like Isbell is asking you to feel sorry for him living in this world rather than trying to really understand what is going on. The track has good intentions, but it barely scratches the surface making it feel a bit trite. However, the duet with Amanda Shires (Isbell's fiddle player and wife) "If We Were Vampires" is an absolutely haunting song that stirs you right to your soul. Being zapped from a somewhat perplexing song to one that moves you this wholly is jarring to say the least.

"Anxiety" is almost seven minutes long, and rarely makes use of that insane runtime. It is a song that tries to capture why Isbell feels the way he does, but the conclusions are one note at best. Any goodwill the album builds up really does get sucked out because "Anxiety" is such an odd and dour affair. It literally ends at one point, only to somehow pick back up for no reason what so ever. This album really feels like a step sideways for Isbell, you just don't have those incredible revelations you got on Something More Than Free like on the song "Speed Trap Town". The rest of the album is a struggle as well because you just can;t shake that this record feels phoned in. Yet, even when it seems like less than Isbell's best it is still light years ahead of anything else going on in country right now. You'll just find yourself missing that Jason Isbell who really dug in, who said the gritty and unpopular things because they were right. As He has become a better and better pop writer some of that edge has faded away and a base level. The Nashville Sound is still a good album but it ranks quite low in Isbell's illustrious discoraphy.

6.9 out of 10