Fans of the Drive-By Truckers have been aware of Jason Isbell since 2001. It took me until 2017 to be so lucky.
That’s when Isbell’s album The Nashville Sound, recorded with his sometime backing band The 400 Unit, dropped and produced a minor hit in the haunting love song ‘If We Were Vampires.’ I saw that song and album listed on several year-end best-of lists and decided to give him a shot.
What a find! Isbell is one of the finest singer-songwriters working today, witty and wise, able to spin personal tragedies and triumphs into resonant universal poetry. Every one of his albums is a pleasure, and a handful are among the finest records I’ve heard by anybody in a long time.
Foxes in the Snow, along with my ranking of all ten albums.
Meet Me In Montauk 