Foxes in the Snow

Well, the last few albums were heavy and bombastic musically, but this one is a heavy listen… for entirely different reasons this time.

I have only just recently been getting into “Jason Isbell,” whom is an indie country artist that has been impressing country listeners and fans since his debut on the scene as a part of the country band “Drive By Truckers.” Once he left that group in 2007 however, he became more well known for his solo material that often featured assistance from his backing band “The 400 Unit.”

That all being said, I was extremely late to the party with this guy. Prior to 2023 I did occasionally hear some of his big singles off of “Southeastern” and “Something More Than Free,” but because I was not a country nerd at all during that time I never really dove into his full albums. That all changed however, when I heard his 2023 album “Weathervanes.”

It was a particular recommendation from Country super-fan “Spectrum Pulse” as it was an album that was a rare 10/10 score from him, so naturally I had to check out the album as I had a potentially great entry point into his music. What I got was a very honest, somber, thoughtful and reflective album about becoming a totally different person that you were prior…that was working for me all the way through, it still proves to be a phenomenal entry point and holds up almost 2 years later. So you can already imagine that when I heard he was going to be dropping an album this year… You bet I was absolutely going to give him a full review.

This new 10th album from him (this time by himself) is of course called “Foxes In The Snow.” Does this album work as a great entry point once again for Jason’s music just like Weathervanes?

Well to answer that, there’s some very important context needed first.
See, Jason has always been a very honest, personal and emotional artist when it came to his lyric writing, with often reflected topics like his time growing up as an Alabama man, reflecting on his time in rehab towards sobriety, and the struggles of being human in a married relationship…
…The latter of these examples is sadly part of the main case on this album.

In between ‘Weathervanes’ and this album, his relationship with his 2nd wife & fellow country musician “Amanda Shires” finally fell apart and Isbell filed for Divorce. Amanda was not only a constant collaborator musically for Jason for over a decade, but she was also responsible for helping Jason to get to rehab and stay sober (hence covered on “Southeastern”). So this album is entirely a reflection on the fallout of their messy divorce… and it absolutely shows.

You can feel the frustration and pain that he’s letting out from his divorce all across the album, especially on “True Believer,” “Eileen,” “Good While It Lasted,” “Don’t Be Tough,” “Gravelweed” and the title track. Unlike prior albums from Jason that were mostly focused on a variety of personal topics he was dealing with, Every song on here has direct attention on his elephant in the room, and often reads like advice from a post-divorce therapy session. There were Subtle hints towards Jason’s marriage falling apart on his two prior albums “Reunions” and “Weathervanes…” but here everything is all laid out bare for us to see.

As someone who has never married yet or filed for divorce, I obviously cannot relate to what Jason has gone through right now, but with this kind of album it does give me a lot of insight and information on what that kind of pain & trauma is like… And I hope to god I never go down that path he’s gotten. At the very least I hope I don’t get as unlucky as he did. Ouch.

Well that’s essentially the album, and while I can also give good praise to the album’s perfect pacing time, Jason’s excellent acoustic guitar work and his voice that reminds me greatly of “Neil Young” at his best… the MEAT to the bone of a Jason Isbell album has always been the lyrics and songwriting, and this one just like ‘Weathervanes’ is another great example of that. I would say I prefer Weathervanes in all honesty as that album has his “The 400 Unit” Band on it, While this one doesn’t, but I also get why as this one is more personal towards HIM specifically. Id also say that Weathervanes probably has even bigger highs than this one.

If you’ve been going through a divorce recently or lost a partner, then this album might be a bit hard for you to listen to straightaway, but once you’re ready, you’ll be happy have a beautiful piece from Jason Isbell once again.
Again, there may be stuff that I may have missed, especially considering I’m only a recent follower of Jason Isbell, but I’m hoping that those who DO have more info (Especially ‘Spectrum Pulse’ whom’ll definitely be reviewing this album at some point) make this album hit even harder & better with what I missed.
But hey, even if you don’t have the context, this is still a great soothing-if-sad recommendation among the other crazy releases we’re getting this month.

Hopefully this poor fox can get some comfort in future.