Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free

Jason Isbell
Something More Than Free
2015

There simply aren't many people like Jason Isbell out there. Not only is He an amazing singer songwriter but he has lived a troubled life that bleeds through his music like an open wound. Since leaving Drive-By Truckers and quitting booze his music has become rich beyond comparison. There has always been a profound sadness to his music, that sense of longing and despair that we all feel whether we admit it or not, but on Something More Than Free that often gives way to a streaking line of joy. The idea that maybe things nor only aren't so bad but possibly they are getting better. The opening track "If it Takes a Lifetime" sets this tone and is a great bright spot on the record. However don't get confused and thing that this album is all happiness and butterflies, there is still a great sense of pain throughout the record that it seems Isbell will never be able to escape. "Speed Trap Town" a song that chronicles life in a small town deals with death, sadness and the way we all eventually settle. It is one of those songs that leaves tears in your eyes not only because it is so real, but because the truth resonates through all walks of life.

That is Isbell's true gift, He is able to take something authentic, something true, and put it to music. It's a lot like Bruce Springsteen however the southern angle adds more depth and history to his albums. Isbell's records could be books about the south, and the real people of it, but putting it to solid Americana music makes it have so much more impact. With many singer songwriters there is a sense of really trying to make something catchy or finding a hook before a song but that never has been Jason Isbell, for him the narrative is number one and comes before anything else. Following up the juggernaut  that was his previous album Southeastern his next record had to be something really special and Something More Than Free is just that. This is a record that not only should be listened to, but it needs to listened to. Drop whatever you are doing and go out and listen to the stellar Something More Than Free.

9 out of 10