Jason Isbell’s breakout album Southeastern was a fairly introspective affair, an occasionally harrowing portrait that chronicled his efforts to get sober after years of indulging in the demon rum.
On “Hope The High Road,” the lead single for his new album The Nashville Sound, Isbell declaims that he’s “Heard enough of the white man’s blues/ I’ve sang enough about myself/ So if you’re looking for some bad news/ You can find it somewhere else.”
The track, a resilient display of no-nonsense rock and roll, acknowledges the hard road that was 2016, but insists there will be no “fighting with you down in the ditch,” perhaps a reference to the chamber of despair that social media has become. Instead, the song imagines the prospect of a better day achieved through the moral perseverance of kindred spirits.
Watch the video for “Hope The High Road”
The Fat Angel Sings 