Jason Isbell is back with a new album, “Weathervanes”, his sixth with his Muscle Shoals band the 400 Unit—Sadler Vaden, Jimbo Hart, Derry deBorja and Chad Gamble—and his ninth overall since leaving the Drive-By Truckers. “Did you ever love a woman with a death wish / Something in her eyes like switching off a light switch,” he sings to open the first single, “Death Wish,” a driving Southern rock song with beautiful strings by Morgan O’Shaughnessey. “Everybody dies but you gotta find a reason to carry on.” The song flips the script on Isbell’s own experience reaching rock bottom with alcohol and drugs in 2012 and finding support and intervention from those who loved him. It addresses depression from the standpoint of a person who loves someone that’s struggling. “I don’t want to fight with you baby,” he sings, “but I won’t leave you alone.”
“Weathervanes” is a collection of grown-up songs about love, change, the danger of nostalgia and the interrogation of myths, cruelty, regret and redemption. “There is something about boundaries on this record,” said Isbell. “As you mature, you still attempt to keep the ability to love somebody fully and completely while you’re growing into an adult and learning how to love yourself.”
“Weathervanes”, the new album from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, will be available everywhere on June 9th, 2023.
Release Date: June 9th, 2023 Southeastern Records.
The Fat Angel Sings 