Reunions still puts me right back in that 2020 summer, i hate having such weird and bad memories associated with such a great album.
Listened to this on an early morning drive this morning on the way to meet some friends for a 22-mile run. Good morning record. Also good "being completely exhausted after a long run" record.
My first listen on Friday was walking my dog at 6 in the morning on a walking trail that goes through a wooded area near my house. We were also walking through snow as we had a big snowstorm a couple days prior. This hit absolutely perfectly in that very specific situation haha
I still like this a lot but it kinda feels like he wrote Ride to Robert’s and the last three songs and was like “damn I need some more to go with these!” I think this settles near Nashville Sound for me: some incredible songs, but several that are just fine, and some stuff that frustrates me and holds the record back (on Nashville Sound, the production, here, some clunker lines and songs that feel half-baked) I like that he’s trying different stuff and just putting songs out there though even if it doesn’t always work
I'm actually loving this a lot more the more I listen. The acoustic playing is so lovely, and I love how personally focused it is. "Don't Be Tough" is the only song I don't really like.
I didn't realize this came out on Friday. Listened to it twice back to back in the car yesterday and loved it. "Gravelweed" and "Don't Be Tough" are early favorites
I really like Gravelweed but it was the one song on here that I immediately thought would have benefited from the full 400 unit treatment.
honestly, I end up feeling this way 99% of the time when a song is just a dude and his acoustic guitar the format is just so reminiscent of 'guy at party playing acoustic guitar' cliche, which is kinda why I was gonna skip this and ended up being pleasantly surprised how much I like it
Four listens in… he’s one of the most gifted writers of the last decade and change, but some of these verses feel like they need a few more passes to measure up to his own standards. This is a great record with some real solemn beauty in it, but as a whole it’s a step down from where he’s been.
I'll be honest and say I don't miss the 400 Unit on a single one of these songs. Feels like they really needed to be presented this way and would suffer if they had the full-band treatment. I also think I was ready for a total change of pace from him, and this feels like it's done the job nicely.
“Wind Behind The Rain” might be my favorite on this. Really strong album, not in top 3 for me, but glad it exists, some songs I’ll always come back to for sure.
I really like that he can do things like this and Southeastern, as well as full band material with the 400 Unit, and I don’t ever feel like the quality drops. This will probably take some more time to grow on me compared to something like Weathervanes, but I’m enjoying it still.
It's been a week since the release so time for the time-honored chorus tradition and i will NOT apologize for starting this sorry!! Weathervanes Reunions Southeastern Something More Than Free Here We Rest Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit Foxes in the Snow Sirens of the Ditch The Nashville Sound I don't know what it is but SMTF has lost some of its luster for me recently. Was my favorite record of his from 2015-2023 but just don't find myself returning to it as much of late.
Weathervanes Reunions Something More Than Free Southeastern The Nashville Sound Foxes in the Snow Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit Here We Rest Sirens of the Ditch
Southeastern Something More Than Free Weathervanes Reunions Foxes in the Snow The Nashville Sounds Here We Rest Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit Sirens of the Ditch
Think I post this once a year but the s/t deserves more love than it gets imo and I think part of the problem is the version on all streaming platforms is the whack Cobb remix. Hmu if you ever want mp3s of the original that I tracked down from EU Amazon with a vpn a few years back--think you can't even get it there now