Several leading music sites have placed the video with great comments and results. Now he is working to build steam with this new record as he tries to create anticipation for his forthcoming album, ‘I Am Maskerade’, due in stores early 2011. 1, 2010 - PRLog - Inland Empire, CA - R&B/Pop Sensation Maskerade has been singing, writing, and producing heartfelt music for over 10 years. Follow him on social media at Facebook.Dec. While “The Nashville Sound” still may not reach the perfection of “Southeastern,” it’s proof that Isbell is the real deal and, perhaps, the greatest songwriter this side of Bob Dylan.Įmail reporter Brian Passey at or call him at 43. This love song is not just about a momentary passion but the kind of love that lasts a lifetime: “It’s knowing that this can’t go on forever / Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone / Maybe we’ll get forty years together, but one day I’ll be gone / Or one day you’ll be gone.” The most heartwarming and heartbreaking track is “If We Were Vampires,” a song of sublime beauty where Isbell’s lead vocals are backed only by his acoustic guitar and his wife’s harmonies. Shires’ harmonies and the sweet strains of her violin highlight the tender “Something to Love” as the couple sings to their baby daughter: “I hope you find something to love / Something to do when you feel like giving up.” Other songs are a little more straightforward but still steer clear of clichés while addressing matters of the heart. Tift Merritt is still one of America's best songwriters Rhiannon Giddens delivers stirring 'Freedom Highway' More music: The voice of Alison Krauss is a national treasure “Chaos and Clothes” probably boasts his best turns of phrase, comparing a heartache to a car wreck in the first verse before addressing the cryptic title phrase: “But lovers leave chaos and clothes / In quite corners where you rarely ever go.” On the brilliant “Molotov,” Isbell matches the album’s best melodic hooks with his reliably witty wordplay, singing, “I was broke and you were unbroken / Our little jokes to keep it unspoken,” in the first verse while following it up with, “When you said we had the same three wishes / I hope you weren’t being facetious.” Isbell is often effortlessly poetic, like on the gently swaying “The Last of My Kind.” It’s the rumination of a country boy in the big city as he sings, “Mama says God won’t give you too much to bear / That might be true in Arkansas, but I’m a long, long way from there.” Joshua James, Sera Cahoone deliver exquisite new tunes Gorillaz, Willie Nelson both release superb new albums More music: Lorde, Sammy Brue and the voice of youth The issue also seems to resurface on “Hope the High Road,” where Isbell says he’s “heard enough of the white man’s blues.” The message is one of civil discourse: Rather than “fighting with you down in the ditch,” he hopes “the high road leads you home again.” Shires helped Isbell battle his demons and is now a part of the 400 Unit.Įven though Isbell’s lyrics remain intimately personal on “The Nashville Sound,” it feels more like a full-band record as they take aim at the vapidity of the new “Nashville Sound” together through a number of aggressive Southern rockers and balance them out with a few gentle acoustic ballads. The deeply personal lyrics of those albums tracked Isbell’s battles with addiction while also telling the story of his romance with Shires, the former Thift Store Cowboys fiddler/singer. Isbell’s band, the 400 Unit, shares an album credit with the singer-songwriter for the first time since 2011’s “Here We Rest.” His previous two releases - 2013’s exquisite “Southeastern” and 2015’s strong follow-up, “Something More Than Free” - both featured the band but were only credited to Isbell. It's all about the guitars on Ryan Adams' latest album More music: It's time for true country artists to revolt
Take “Tupelo,” where the Dolly Parton-like backing vocals of his wife, Amanda Shires, give a salt-of-the-earth resonance to the track. He’s far from a mainstream country artist but his songs are truer to real country music than your typical Music Row fare. By contrast, Isbell’s “Nashville Sound” has none of that.