Although
Jason Isbell
's rather sudden split from
the Drive-By Truckers
, after six years of guitar/songwriting employment, was unexpected by most, his debut solo disc had already been four years in the making. Perhaps that explains the appearance of three members of his old band (bassist
Shonna Tucker
, drummer
Brad Morgan
, and
DBT
founder/frontman
Patterson Hood
, who also co-produced this disc), who assist on nearly every track. Musically
Isbell
finds a more soulful, generally less guitar-centric groove in this Southern
singer/songwriter
rock
. Even though it was pieced together from different sessions, this is a remarkably coherent effort. Songs such as the melancholy
"Dress Blues"
and the harder-rocking
"Shotgun Wedding"
dissect the lives of working folks from small towns that
likely knows well, and his lyrics sympathetically examine the limited futures of many of the protagonists. He delivers these stories with honest, unpretentious, and dusky vocals that, with a modified
Don Henley
rasp, subtly frame his skillfully constructed words. Even with the substantial input from the various
Truckers
, few of that band's fans would expect to find the upbeat, near-
folk
pop
with banjo accompaniment of
"The Magician,"
a tune that uses the titular character as a metaphor for the life of a touring musician, on a
disc. Nor would the understated
blues
of
"Hurricanes and Hand Grenades"
or the lovely acoustic ruminations of
"In a Razor Town,"
a song that wouldn't be out of place on an old
Jackson Browne
album, logically slot into
the Truckers
' catalog. Every track is beautifully constructed, but none are fussy or overthought out, something not to be taken for granted concerning songs that took four years to finally appear. At times the effect seems almost too clean, as if
is trying to distance himself from the grungier
style. But this is a remarkably mature and impressive debut from an artist who seems like he's just getting started and his best stuff lies ahead of him. ~ Hal Horowitz