Jason Isbell Announces New Album
Jason Isbell has announced the release of his fifth album, Something More Than Free.
The project is set for release on July 17 via Southeastern Records and was produced by Dave Cobb, who worked on Isbell's award-winning 2013 album, Southeastern, and has done work with Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton and Jamey Johnson.
“The thing I probably value the most in Dave is his instinct for what works and what doesn’t,” Isbell tells Radio.com. “He’s really good at doing essentially what a producer should do, which is provide a standard of taste in the studio.”
Isbell recorded the album's 11 tracks at Nashville's Sound Emporium. A full track listing is not yet available, but the project is set to explore a range of different sounds, including the classic country song "If It Takes a Lifetime," a folk balled called "Flagship," the Southern rock tune "Palmetto Rose" and "24 Frames," which features a Laurel Canyon sound.
With so many different influences, Isbell says that the album doesn't have a specific theme, but the songs are still tied together.
“[I'm] trying to explain relationships between people and relationships with an individual and his or her past, and the sort of things you trade in to be happy the older you get — I think that’s a big concern on this record," he says. “There are a lot of instances of some sort of exchange. Exchanging freedom or exchanging something that you thought you had in the past in order to be a happier person in the future.”
The singer penned each of the songs on the release, choosing not to work with other artists or co-writers, but he says that Cobb is a big asset once it comes to finalizing the tracks.
“I don’t really co-write with anybody; I write all my songs myself. Some of the arrangements, we worked out once we got in the studio,” he says. “Dave Cobb helps a lot with those things; he’s got really good instincts for what direction to go in, whether a song needs a bridge or not, how many times to sing the chorus, things like that … He’s really good at doing essentially what a producer should do, which is provide a standard of taste in the studio.”
Isbell will hit the road for his 2015 tour starting on May 2 at the Jimmie Rodgers Festival in Meridian, Miss. See a full list of tour dates at JasonIsbell.com.