one of the biggest challenges jason faced, i am sure, when making this album, was living up to his extraordinary previous release, southeastern. my first run through of this disc encountered the same challenge, namely that i was comparing it, and it wasn’t as good. but with each new listen, it begins to stand on it’s own, and it is a fine piece of work. he has added one more addition to his portfolio that cements his reputation out there as one of the finer singer/songwriters in the field today. each song here is a story, maybe sometimes autobiographical, but always well crafted and heartfelt. he can create characters and situations and emotions like nobody’s business. same producer as ‘southeastern’, and for the most part his road band, along with lovely wife amanda shires on vocal and fiddle.

‘speed trap town’ could easily be a cut on springsteen’s ‘nebraska’, and ‘hudson commodore’ is an uplifting tale of a single woman making her way in roosevelt’s south. ‘to a band i loved’ ,and possibly ‘how to forget’, are probably about his time with drive by truckers, and his first marriage to shonna tucker. i just saw him at the house of blues a couple of months back. he has been relentlessly touring, and is worth a visit if he comes to your town. probably my favorite artist out there right now that fits into the category of ‘bands you haven’t heard of’. that is becoming less of a truism with every new release. he is building a solid career, and this is worth your consideration.

“I’m kind of picky about songwriters, you know,” says John Prine. “But when I heard Southeastern, it just killed me. I loved it. I like songs that are clean and don’t have much fat on them — every line is direct, and all people can relate to it. That’s what I try to do, and that’s what Jason does. I really haven’t heard anybody that different in probably 30 years.”

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/jason-isbells-new-morning-20150807#ixzz3iKUtWRJA