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Sirens is the sound of a freshly liberated songwriter scouring his soul - and coming up full-handed.
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This is a remarkably mature and impressive debut from an artist who seems like he's just getting started and his best stuff lies ahead of him.
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Isbell's best songs will remind you of Richard Buckner, Raymond Carver, and Neil Young.
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The record smoothly lures and detours familiar, '70s-based rock-blues-country sounds and expectations while highlighting Isbell's character-actor flair.
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Overall, Sirens… may be a bit of a stylistic scattershot, but the Muscle Shoals foundation and Isbell’s razor-sharp songwriting mark it as an auspicious debut.
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The simpler arrangements suit Isbell on songs with an understated but unmistakable Southern rock flair.
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"The Devil Is My Running Mate" a weak ending for a strong debut full of the kind of confident, charismatic songwriting that just can't be taught.
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Sirens is no "Heartbreaker" - though the stylistic grab-bag is reminiscent of Adams’s debut - but it is a damn good start.
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Sirens sounds deceptively ordinary - it could be a Springsteen or John Hiatt record, professionally performed and plainly captured, yet executed with masterful effortlessness.
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BlenderIt's all top-shelf alt-country: road-hardened, literate and dark as ever. [August 2007, p.114]
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SpinGiven time, Isbell could be roots rock's Flannery O'Connor. [Aug 2007, p.102]
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Isbell shines most when he’s not channeling; tracks like 'Chicago Promenade,' 'Shotgun Wedding' and tasteful protest ballad 'Dress Blues' (which smartly chooses empathy over proselytizing) find his sound evolving into an alternately rocked-up and quietly satisfying maturity.
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Jason Isbell, formerly of the Drive By Truckers, releases a solid, sad, gritty new album as a solo artist.
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Isbell has pulled together another gritty Southern Siren song.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 14 out of 15
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Mixed: 0 out of 15
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Negative: 1 out of 15
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GaryMAug 16, 2007
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TgAug 1, 2007
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MarcosMAug 1, 2007Amazing songwriting.