It's been a great year for new releases, and we've listened to about 130 of them in all different genres. Rock, Pop, Blues, Funk, Metal, Jazz, Country... Every genre has seen the release of a slew of great records. You can check out an excerpt from each of these albums in our December 22nd playlist if so inclined...
But the one we've been listening to the most, the one we keep returning to (alongside Hackney Diamonds, which keeps getting better with each listen) is Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit's Weathervanes. Now, we're not exactly partial: in our view, Isbell is the best American songwriter living today. And yes, we are aware that Bruce Springsteen and Nobel Prize Laureate Bob Dylan are still alive. We stand by our statement.
The album has everything we've come to love from Isbell and his band: poignant stories, heartfelt lyrics, killer melodies and gnarly guitars. Isbell is generally thought of as a country artist and while his brand of Southern Americana does have a country flavor at times, the 400 Unit is a rock band and Weathervanes reinforces that notion. Some of the album's best moments are when Isbell and lead guitarist Sadler Vaden start wailing on their instruments, exchanging licks and motifs. This is going to make for some pretty intense stage heroics... So how about a few dates on this side of the pond?
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