Album Review – Jason Isbell’s “Foxes in the Snow”

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photo: Christy Bush

#570 (Americana) on the Country DDS.

Writing and recording divorce records in the era of non-disclosure agreements has to make for a difficult task. But if there’s any wordsmith out there in the world capable of navigating those hurdles, it’s probably Jason Isbell.

Wanting to capture the immediacy of the moments and the sentiments when they’re fresh, Isbell chose to not take the time to coordinate schedules with his backing band The 400 Unit and fuss with mic’ing drums (which really is a pill). Instead he decided instead to go acoustic. Foxes in the Snow is what it’s called, and it finds Isbell writing for the first time in a while without Amanda Shires second-guessing everything and cursing Dave Cobb under her breath.

The fair question to ask with any acoustic album is if the material is done justice in the stripped-down setting, or if it would be better presented with a full band. Jason Isbell is a more than capable guitar player. In fact, it’s one of his most underrated attributes. And without the aid of overdubs, accompaniment, or even shakers, he sets out to encapsulate the last 18 months or so of his life with mostly favorable results.

Whenever an album like this hits shelves, it’s usually accompanied by some exclusive spread in the press that helps unlock a lot of the meaning. In this case, it was behind the paywall of The Wall Street Journal. Thanks to the folks over at MSN, there’s an alternative version too. It’s there where Isbell reveals that former 400 Unit bass player Jimbo Hart was fired as opposed to choosing to walk away. He also says the Shires divorce was not instigated by either cheating. It was Amanda’s growing resentment as Isbell’s career success that was partly to blame, at least according to Isbell.


Yes I know, these a saucy details. But this is a divorce record, and I’m not the one printing them. Then it gets even saucier when it’s revealed Isbell’s new flame is 29 year old visual artist Anna Weyant, who caused quite a stir in the art world after dating the 79-year-old art tycoon Larry Gagosian (net worth $600 million)—a relationship that is given credit by some for taking Weyant’s paintings from hundreds of dollars in value, to over a million.

What does any of this have to do with the songs of Foxes in the Snow? Actually, quite a bit. Amanda Shires, Isbell’s divorce, and Anna Weyant make up the majority of the inspiration for the songs, some of which feel perfect in the acoustic setting, and some that beg for a more fleshed-out treatment.

To be fair to each track, we’ll address them individually (see below). But overall, the album is entertaining, involved despite the acoustic nature, enriching with the stories and the poetry Isbell weaves into the tracks, though fair to wonder what it would sounds like in the full band setting. Perhaps someday we will find out.

Isbell is definitely one of the few who can take an acoustic song quite far. But it’s also fair to recognize Foxes in the Snow for what it is—a transitional album between eras for Isbell to express things in inside him that is more personal to himself than appealing to a wide audience, while still illustrating his world class-caliber writing.

8/10

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Song Reviews:


1. Bury Me

Though we think of Jason Isbell through the always nebulous lens of “Americana,” he’s treated us to numerous country songs throughout his career. “Bury Me” might be his first Western one—not especially groundbreaking, but well-provisioned and entertaining nonetheless. One of the good things about an acoustic-only song is it’s like a mound of clay. You can definitely hear some country and Western bands molding this into a cool cut. Compared to the rest of the album, “Bury Me” is a comparatively lighthearted moment to start the album.

2. Ride To Robert’s

If you’re a true country music fan, you should know about the mythology surrounding Robert’s Western World on Lower Broadway in Nashville, which is the entertainment corridor’s last true honky tonk, and where traditional country lives. Isbell does a more than admiral job weaving this reverence into what is actually a love song, but one that works as a Robert’s tribute too, and even makes sure to name drop Don Kelley, who famously commanded audiences from the Robert’s stage for many years.

“Ride To Robert’s” is a great bout of songwriting that illustrates how weaving the elements of place and geography can take a good song to great places. He does this a few times on Foxes in the Snow. The line “easel in the empty room” is a reference to his new girlfriend and artist Anna Weyant.


3. Eileen

This might be the hardest song to pin down the story or inspiration behind. It’s definitely about navigating through a romantic relationship, but might be about a past love, or a current one, or one in-between. Similar to the next song (“Gravelweed”), it includes a melody that sounds strongly indicative of a Jason Isbell song, and one you could hear expanded upon by The 400 Unit.

4. Gravelweed

This is clearly a song about the unraveling of his relationship with Amanda Shires. The line “I was a gravelweed and I needed you to raise me. And you couldn’t reach me once I felt like I was raised,” alludes to how Sires helped Isbell through sobriety, but they couldn’t hack it after he’d matured past that part of his life. “I’m sorry the love songs all mean different things today” is perhaps the most poignant line of the album.

The line before says, “And now that I live to see my melodies betray me…” and “Gravelweed” includes a classic and characteristic Jason Isbell melody. It’s an undeniably great song, but perhaps the strongest of the set that you could hear backed by The 400 Unit, and probably would be even better with them.


5. Don’t Be Tough

One of the simpler compositions of the set, it captures Isbell running through aphorisms. It really works to highlight the dichotomy of the Jason Isbell persona, where he can be so caring and charismatic with a guitar. But when punching away with his thumbs on the phone, he can completely lose sight of the humanity, and become a horrible spokesperson for his beliefs as he punches down and insults strangers.

Jason Isbell should listen to himself. When he’s not right of mind, it isn’t just the bottle he should leave be. Social media and it’s dopamine high is an addictive and self-destructive substance too.

6. Open and Close

Jason Isbell has revealed that he’s living part-time in New York, and this song makes numerous references to his life in the city. It also makes specific references to his girlfriend Anna Weyant who was raised in Calgary, with Jason’s self-coaching to “be brave” probably referencing the moment he made his first romantic move. This song feels more personal to Isbell, with the specificity probably hindering it from heavily resonating with the audience. But it’s well-composed nonetheless.

7. Foxes in the Snow

It’s fair to question if this song works, and even more fair to question why it was released as one of the album’s lead singles. Sure, the mood and composition is supposed to come across as a little unhinged to express the uneasiness of a love unraveling. But lines like “I love her mouth” should probably never make it into a song. The line, “I love the carrot but I really like the stick” seems to say a lot, but whatever message the song is meant to convey, Isbell is careful to leave the underlying truths somewhat veiled.

8. Crimson and Clay

This is a song referencing Isbell’s upbringing and ties to Alabama, though some of the specific details and references are probably fictionalized. The song is complimented by an interesting chord selection that with The 400 Unit could result in a gritty, rocking moment. But unlike some of the other songs of Foxes in the Snow, Isbell is able to make “Crimson and Clay” feel more full-bodied by himself.

The reference to a bolt action gun and leaving it behind is about all that passes for a “political” moment on the album, and it’s a soft, passing one at that. Nonetheless, you can expect politics to be the primary barrier for many to this album, which is unfortunate.

9. Good While It Lasted

This could be about Isbell’s new love Anna Weyant, or perhaps someone in-between Weyant and Shires that didn’t last. “The last time I tried this sober I was 17,” is the key line, finding Isbell trying to figure out courtship as a man in his mid 40s. But similar to other songs on the album, this song speaks more to Isbell’s personal experiences as opposed to touching on more universal themes. This album is Isbell processing through stuff, so this shouldn’t be taken as a sin.

10. True Believer

If you’re looking for the one song about the Jason Isbell divorce from Amanda Shires, this is it. Where Isbell forgoes specificity on the divorce for most of the album, he works in some concrete details here. But he also knows when to pull back and let the audience’s imagination fill in blanks, and leave other things cloudy as to not be trite and obvious. There’s is also probably legal boundaries, which like a shock jock, means some things must be left as innuendo. Either way, Isbell pours his emotion out in the song, though this is probably a good moment to point out that there are two sides to every story.


11. Wind Behind The Rain

On an album full of messy sentiments tied to developing and unraveling relationships, “Wind Behind The Rain” is uncharacteristically devotional, and perhaps, hopeful. It also includes some of Isbell’s most intricate playing on the album, following the melody mostly through individual notes as opposed to open chords with embellishments. It helps end a rather stormy album on a somewhat positive note.

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