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Jun 13, 2013Listening to this stunning album will provide you with your own moment of clarity. Don’t let it slip away.
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Jun 11, 2013For the most part Southeastern is pretty serious business. Then again, so is life and the one that Isbell has lived thus far is certainly worth documenting, especially when the songs supporting it are this stunning.
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Nov 15, 2013There’s a real dynamic arc here, not just for the album as a whole, but also within each and every individual song, and whether or not you’ve gravitated toward county music in the past, that unrivaled depth of passion makes this record an absolute essential.
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Jun 19, 2013It’s a poignant, reflective, and very often frank portrayal of humanity’s dual impulses authored by someone who has lived several chapters, yet knows the story is constantly being rewritten.
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MagnetJun 17, 2013The music remains solidly Southern, using all three chords, but the lyrics reach for new levels of cussedness and vulnerability. [No.99, p.57]
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Jun 11, 2013This album is harrowing and not for the timid, but those who stick with it will be treated to a truthful, moving journey and a master class in songwriting to boot.
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Jun 11, 2013By any reasonable aesthetic criteria, Southeastern is a triumph.
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UncutOct 31, 2013It's Isbell's best album yet, and suggests that he'll do better still. [Dec 2013, p.64]
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MojoOct 16, 2013What makes the album itself addictive is Isbell's fusing of gothic Memphis blues and Nashville tenderness. [Nov 2013, p.90]
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Oct 8, 2013The result of his efforts is a celebration of the strength of his character and like his personal journey, Southeastern is story full of meaning and it commands the listener’s full attention.
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Oct 4, 2013Southeastern finds him working in a more stripped-down manner which focuses attention firmly on his songs. Fortunately, they're brilliant: vivid, multi-faceted tales of souls adrift.
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Jun 18, 2013Just about every song here has a couplet Elvis Costello would be proud to call his own, and the money shot "Elephant" has several.
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Jun 11, 2013It is, quite frankly, Isbell's best solo album thus far.
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Jul 11, 2013Southeastern is easily Isbell’s best solo album--his most richly conceived and generously written. If it’s not quite the album that lives up to his considerable talents, it’s mostly the music that’s to blame.
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Jun 18, 2013Here, he mostly dials back the volume to plumb heavy emotions.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 54 out of 60
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Mixed: 2 out of 60
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Negative: 4 out of 60
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Jun 11, 2013
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Jun 12, 2013
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Oct 30, 2013