A grown up dose: Something More Than Free by Jason Isbell

 

Jason Isbell had what some might call a good dilemma. The singer/songwriter went and put himself dead in the center of the Americana music scene with his love affair-inducing 2013 release, Southeastern.

The problem for Isbell, of course, is how could he follow up something that good? Something More Than Free faces the challenge by being its own kind of great. It’s a warning shot, letting us all know we’ve got ourselves a high-caliber artist working in his wheelhouse. Simply put, this is a dang fine record.

It’s an interesting mix peppered with Isbell’s top-notch phrasing and astute everyday observations. The sound is varied but the songs don’t get into wrestling matches with each other. They get along well enough to keep a listener tight through the whole stretch.

From working-man gospel on the opener “If It Takes a Lifetime” to raucous southern rebellion on “Palmetto Rose”–with the latter saying a whole bunch more about geographical and philosophical heritage than any old flag ever could–the album takes some sharp turns. These divergences, though are consistently interesting and in service of the work.

There’s also an instant, all-out killer: “Speed Trap Town.” The tune sounds like one Springsteen might have carried around in his shirt pocket back when he was writing about a highway patrolman named Joe Roberts:

 

 

Something More Than Free feels like an album about doing a little growing up–maturing in the greater sense, learning the hard truths about what we can or can’t compromise in order to maintain our identity and self-worth.

Isbell, a pretty prolific tweeter in his own right, recently RT’d his famous friend Ryan Adams who opined about this release, “Albums matter. Songs matter. Things matter. Enjoy every second of this.”

In summation, I’ll just back Ryan’s sentiments. Albums do matter. Songs do matter and this thing called Something More Than Free is sure worth the listen.