Since starting out in the rock band Drive-By Truckers, Isbell has followed his own career path, beginning his solo career in 2007 with his debut ‘Sirens Of The Ditch’, after which he has been accompanied by his band The 400 Unit, composed of Sadler Vaden (guitar), Jimbo Hart (bass), Derry DeBorja (keyboard) and Chad Gumble (drums). Now considered one of the foremost Americana singer-songwriters, Jason really came to the world stage with his wonderful, and acclaimed, 2013 album ‘Southeastern’, from which he swept the Americana Music Awards, winning Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year (Cover Me Up) and Artist Of The Year.
‘Southeastern’ is one of my favorite ever albums and so I approached ‘Something More Than Free’ with confidence that it would be good, but a degree of nervousness that it wouldn’t live up to its predecessor. I needn’t have worried, because ‘Something More Than Free’ is an unbelievable album, achieving everything that ‘Southeastern’ did, and then some more.
The album kicks off with ‘If It Takes A Lifetime’, beginning with a nice bouncy ‘Toy Story-like’ guitar intro before the vocals come in over the top. Maintaining its nice upbeat tone, the music reflects the theme of the lyrics, with Isbell singing about finding happiness after having lost yourself, with lines like “Got so far from my raising’’ showing some hint of the redemptive themes explored in the song. In many ways ‘If It Takes A Lifetime’ very much carries on from ‘Southeastern’, being instrumentally similar, the vocals dominating the song but with an interesting backing consisting of understated drum kit alongside electric, acoustic and bass guitars and some fiddle to add some texture to the instrumentals.
The album’s first single ’24 Frames’ follows and immediately tones down the upbeat album opener. With an understated acoustic start, Isbell shows us what we already knew: that he is one of the foremost song-writers around. Lyrics like “You thought God was an architect now you know/He’s something like a pipe-bomb ready to blow/And everything you built that’s all for show goes up in flames/In 24 frames’’ demonstrate the beautiful lyricism that can really give insight into some of the tough subjects that Jason tackles in his songs. The ’24 Frames’ refers to the still images that pass through the camera each second when a film is shot, possibly serving as a metaphor for life being broken down into a series of still images, and how it is these images that will be the sum of your life when you look back. Verses like “This is how you make yourself call your mother/And this is how you make yourself closer to your brother/And remember him back when he was small enough to help you sing’’ reinforces this, indicating that it only takes one event to make you look back and realize that you need to rectify some of the mistakes that have been made in life. Melodically, ’24 Frames’ is catchy, but without making use of the ‘sexy hooks’ that seem to be the only thing making songs sell nowadays. The introduction of an electric guitar refrain and increased drums towards the middle and end of the song help to reinforce the heavy nature of the lyrics, really beautifully matching the depth that are explored in this wonderful song.
‘Flagship’ very much follows on from ‘Elephant’ on ‘Southeastern’, in the sense that it is Jason showing us the soft side of his voice, being barely accompanied by instrumentation. ‘Flagship’ is a touching love song, describing the battle between a couple and a world where it is all so easy to become disillusioned by the cynicism, particularly towards love. “Got to try to keep yourself naïve/In spite of all the evidence believe/Volunteer to lose touch with the world/And keep your focus on one solitary girl/Baby let’s not live to see it fade” is a particularly touching verse from the song. The very straightforward lyricism matches the naivety referenced, whilst the avoidance of overly flowery language very much grounds the love they share in the real world, counteracting the belief that true love only exists in fairy tales.
‘Children of Children’ begins with a solo acoustic guitar before Jason comes in with his vocals. Tackling the subject of young pregnancy, the sparse instrumentals reinforce the very somber lyrics, very much not glamorizing or making the best of a bad situation. Lines like “All the years I took from her just by being born’’ really ram home the message of the song, and with a soporific steel guitar and increasing electric guitar wailing, the instrumental ending to the song creates a very stark atmosphere which accentuates the song wonderfully.
The title track of ‘Something More Than Free’ is perhaps one of the most accomplished songs on the record, which is really saying something. Beginning with the lyric “When I get home from work I’ll call up all my friends and we’ll go bust up something beautiful we’ll have to build again… you see a hammer finds a nail and a freight train needs it’s rails and I’m doing what I’m on this earth to do’’ reveals the turmoil at the heart of the character in the song, feeling a strong sense of obligation in his path, seeing himself as having a function, almost as if he were a machine. This neutrality is offset in the next verse by “Every night I dream I’m drowning in the dirt/But I’m lucky to have the work’’. This is such a powerful lyric, demonstrating the melancholy behind severe job dissatisfaction and accentuated by “Sunday morning I’m too tired to go to church but I thank God for the work’’, showing the absolute desperation faced in the situation where the character is actually thankful for this life, even after describing it as like ‘drowning in the dirt’.
The religious element of the song is beautifully worked, being quite subtle, and just adding another layer to the story without making it a song about religion. Lyrics such as “When I get my reward my work will all be done and I will sit back in my chair next to the father and the son/No more holes to fill and no more rocks to break/No more loading boxes on the truck for someone else’s sake’’ show this particularly clearly, with the character using his faith to comfort himself with the idea that his death will finally bring his reward in the form of an afterlife. Whilst these lyrics have been beautifully poetic, full of stark and beautiful imagery, one of the best lines of the song is very plain and simple, coming towards the end when Jason brings up the title of the song and album; “What I’m working for is something more than free’’, putting into prose what the character is feeling: he is working towards his death.
‘Something More Than Free’ is an absolutely brilliant album, lyrically one of the best I’ve heard. Although I’ve heavily focused on Jason Isbell’s brilliant song writing in this review, it is noteworthy that there is also plenty of musical diversity within the record, with some exploration of blues-rock in songs like ‘Palmetto Rose’ as well as the upbeat tracks mentioned alongside the down beaten feasts of emotion such as ‘Children Of Children’ or ‘Something More Than Free’. Another real highlight of the record is ‘Hudson Commodore’ a moving song about an independent woman being stuck in the bible-belt after marrying early. The song is different to those described above because as well as being very lyrically descriptive it is very melodically and instrumentally noteworthy, making strong use of the whole band, rather than just Jason and his guitar. I would love to spend more time doing some analysis on many of the songs I haven’t mentioned, and so I plead to you Jason, release lots of singles!
Originally posted here.
