I’ve heard Jason Isbell’s new album, Weathervanes, all the way through just once but I already know it’s a work of art. This is Isbell’s ninth solo release (and sixth with backing band the 400 Unit) and the man somehow just keeps getting better.

Actually, I take that back. “Getting better” suggests his early work was any less resonant and assured than the latest collection, and that’s simply not the case. He emerged from his six years with the Drive-By Truckers as a fully-formed, brilliant artist whose every release demands attention.

This one rocks a little harder, at times, than his earlier releases but also features some of his most delicate and personal songs. Lyrically, he mines stories of addiction and heartbreak for beautiful street smart poetry. Consider these lines from today’s SOTD: “My mama spent every day alone in a house with noise and names / She got so tired of putting out fires she just laid down in the flames.” Wow. And the whole album is filled with poignant observations like that one.

I need to give Weathervanes more time to fully appreciate its quality, but I won’t hesitate to give it a hearty recommendation.