Southeastern
By the time of *Southeastern*’s release, Alabama singer/songwriter Jason Isbell had spent as much time out of his old band, The Drive-By Truckers, as he had in it. After a clutch of celebrated releases with his new backing band, The 400 Unit, *Southeastern* is his first full-on solo effort, and dominated by quiet ballads and exceedingly personal songwriting. Whether writing about his own struggle with substance abuse or the trials of other carefully drawn characters—like the cancer patient at the center of “Elephant” or the protagonist of \"Live Oak,\" who feels strangely stuck between his troublesome past and his reformed present—the album contains Isbell’s most introspective tunes to date. All told, *Southeastern* is a collection from a cuttingly crafty songwriter at a crucial point in his life and at a high point of his career.
Though former Drive-By Truckers member Jason Isbell's previous solo albums displayed promise with songwriting standouts, his new LP Southeastern is his most gripping and most personal album to date.
Jason Isbell has always been closely associated with the groups he’s been a part of: Drive-By Truckers and, more recently, The 400 Unit, with whom he’s released two albums. While members of the latter step in to back him up on Southeastern, for the first time since his 2007 solo debut, Sirens Of The Ditch, listeners…
Jason Isbell's perspective can at times be downright uncomfortable, but it's also undeniable and rooted in a powerful truth about the way things are.