“Weathervanes”, Jason Isbell and 400 Units (Southeastern/Thirty Tigers).
Jason Isbell and his band made another album with an Alabama accent that further strengthened his credentials as a songwriter, showcasing the power of his voice, guitar and lyrics.
Isbell’s eighth record for 400 Unit, ‘Weathervanes’ is a familiar and predictable amidst vast Americana, with this 13-track canvas painted with country, folk, gospel and hard Southern rock. is an adventure. The album doesn’t venture too far into new sounds and stays within its usual musical guardrails, but it does have its twists and turns.
On “Cast Iron Skillet,” a soft and wistful warning against the prejudices hidden behind archaic thinking, Isbell strums a sweet tune that thickens with accordion hum and wife Amanda Shires’ fiddle. Then comes “When We Were Close,” an electric song from start to finish with angry chords and all-star rhymes.
Having been sober for over 11 years, Isbell continues to tell stories beyond the lens of trying to keep herself clean. Her “Weathervanes” further reflects her eternal process of learning herself and learning how to live and love complex people in a broken world.
The opening track, “Death Wish,” attempts to care for a loved one with mental illness. On “Save the World,” he’s clearly voiced as the father of a 7-year-old daughter, frightened by a school shooting, singing, “Can I keep her daughter at home instead?” resounds.
Shires joins her husband on five different songs, including backup vocals on “Volunteer” and “This Ain’t It.” The couple revealed their lives, loves, and struggles in a recent documentary film.
On “Middle of the Morning,” Isbell explores the dark corners of relationships as she sounds daunted by spending more time at home post-pandemic. he cries. “I’m so sick of stepping on your shadow and feeling disturbed.”
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