Review – Amanda Shires & Jason Isbell’s “Sea Songs”
The First Couple of the current Americana Royal Court consists of songwriter and guitarist Jason Isbell, who first emerged with the Southern rock outfit the Drive By Truckers and has since risen to become one of the most heralded songwriters and performers of the sub-genre, and his darling wife Amanda Shires—the slight but sparky fiddle player who found her formative years cutting bows with Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys and later partnering with the Thrift Store Cowboys and others, and now is just as much her own woman in name and stature as she is a venerable side player.
The music epicenters of Muscle Shoals, AL and Lubbock, TX find their native son and daughter melding their respective talent offerings into a tempest of love and emotive expressions in this two-song, surprise release called Sea Songs. Maybe as a stop gap from both halves of this super couple as we all endure through the dark moments between proper LP releases, this double-sided single satiates the belly of the attentive and open-hearted Americana listener.
The first song “I Follow Rivers” is the more progressive of the two songs, feeling indicative of Samantha Crain or the greater North Carolina roots collective in its style and melody construction. Shuffling, sweet in message but dark in mood, it may be a little too complex or fey for some country ears, while others will find the intertwined voices of Shires and Isbell quite infecting of their audio canals.
Warren Zevon adds his chronically-underappreciated songwriting forged in the economic depravity of mid 70’s Echo Park in the project’s second track “Mutineer.” Devout Shires/Isbell followers may have heard this collaboration performed before live, but this new recorded version adds some new wrinkles and an elevated quality that make it unique and worthy of ownership. More traditional, with a sparse approach and perfectly-blended harmonies, the moments in “Mutineer” make audio gems of these two love bird’s mutual adulation. Amanda Shires’ fiddle playing is the art of making harsh sounds ring pretty as she rakes the bow in an manner that emulates the yearning of the soul. “Mutineer” feels like it was written special just for these two to sing.
This isn’t the first time Shires and Isbell have joined forces, and I don’t just mean on stage where for years the tandem has worked in concert. In the summer of 2014, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The USA” got the Isbell/Shires treatment, tantalizing us to a potential future of full or side projects involving the two. Rumors they also moonlight as a spandex-clad crime fighting duo have never been fully confirmed.
1 3/4 of 2 Guns Up.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Jason Isbell was also recently part of a podcast with ESPN worth listening to.
jeffro
February 10, 2015 @ 6:46 pm
thanks for posting – i couldn’t find a link for preview before now.
Mike2
February 10, 2015 @ 6:50 pm
Very nice. I’m seeing Jason next Sunday. I’ts going to be incredible.
emfrank
February 11, 2015 @ 2:50 pm
I just saw him last night in Columbus, and he and the band were definitely on. I was hoping for a surprise or two – a cover or maybe even a new song since he is going to record a new album next month – but it was just his catalogue. Played everything off Southeastern (except Yvette) plus his better know earlier work. Great show, nonetheless, except for the guy who decided to punch someone in the back during Elephant.
Jack Williams
February 11, 2015 @ 3:23 pm
Great show, nonetheless, except for the guy who decided to punch someone in the back during Elephant.
Did he punch him because the guy told him to Shhhh? When I saw them last week, there was a guy yelling out stuff during Elephant (of all songs!) including “Yeah! Seagrams!.”
I was also hoping for a rocking cover that I hadn’t heard yet during encores. They did blow the roof off the place with his DBT song “We Ain’t Never Gonna Change.” It was a great show. He and his band are firing on all cylinders.
emfrank
February 11, 2015 @ 5:12 pm
Similar situation, but the aggressor punched him instead of telling him to be quiet. Why he thought that was a helpful response to someone who was being a little disruptive, I don’t know. Creating a bigger disturbance made sense in his head, I guess.
The guy who was punched was yelling “woooo” periodically. He may have been doing it all night, but people cheering during a rock song is expected, It became obvious when Jason switched to the quieter numbers. I am not sure if he was drunk or not. Something about the way he moved made me think he might have a developmental disability, that and the fact that the ushers were watching but not responding. In any case he was either too drunk to understand what was appropriate or just intellectually didn’t get it.
The aggressor was a couple seats in front of me. He looked pretty in control, but was obviously irritated and kept looking over. I thought he was getting up to complain, but he walked by and smacked the guy, who was in the back row. The two guy’s friends controlled it so it didn’t escalate, and Jason didn’t miss a step. They moved the “woooo” guy so he was right by the usher, who kept him more settled, and threw out the one who punched him, or at least he didn’t come back.
They did Never Gonna Change, Outfit, Decoration Day and God Damn Lonely Love from the DBT days. GDLL was particularly great. I really appreciate how he lets his band take the stage at times during the show. Such a great group of musicians backing up one of the best.
Barrett
April 19, 2015 @ 6:01 am
Great show last night in columbia. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the end of the encore. Could someone please tell me what songs were played during the encore?
martha
February 10, 2015 @ 7:23 pm
I just heard Mutineer on the outlaw country station this evening and loved it!
Sam Jimenez
February 10, 2015 @ 9:29 pm
Can’t wait to listen to this tonight!
GregN
February 11, 2015 @ 5:25 am
Purchased, thank you.
Enjoy Every Sandwich
February 11, 2015 @ 6:10 am
I’ll have to get this. Great to see Warren Zevon get covered–as you say he’s a chronically-under appreciated songwriter.
RichK
February 11, 2015 @ 6:14 am
Pretty good new Isbell interview/podcast:
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=12305309
Meaghan
February 11, 2015 @ 7:07 am
I want more.
Ryan
February 11, 2015 @ 8:29 am
It takes some talent to take a Swedish indie pop song and make it your own.
Can’t wait to see Isbell next week here in KC. It’s been circled on my calendar for months.
musicfan
February 11, 2015 @ 8:55 am
I will be at the KC show too–4th row! Very excited
Ryan
February 12, 2015 @ 10:43 am
Nice! We’ll be up in the balcony. My wife got me the tickets for Christmas and, being pregnant, she wanted to be sure she could sit most of the show.
I’m excited. The only other time I’ve seen him live was in 2013, when he played with the Turnpike Troubadours at Crossroads.
He played between American Aqarium and Turnpike, so he didn’t get a full set.
I love Turnpike, but Isbell should have been the headliner. Troubs lead singer Evan Felker made it a point during the show to say that they had no say in how the lineup was formed and that they would be honored to play the same stage as Jason if it meant they had to play at 8 a.m.
musicfan
February 12, 2015 @ 2:50 pm
Yep–I was at that show too! Even have a decent bootleg of it and you remember Evan’s comment very well; I love them too, but he was right.
Trigger
February 11, 2015 @ 12:16 pm
Swedish pop, and modern Swedish music and artists in general are really helping to shape the music paradigm right now, from independent roots acts like First Aid Kit, all the way to the very top with producers like Max Martin and Shellback. Sweden really is the proving ground for pop music for the entire world, and with some acts, that’s not such a bad thing.
Meaghan
February 11, 2015 @ 9:01 am
Really digging I Follow Rivers. I think it’s all the things I always wanted The Civil Wars to be – dark, emotional, haunting – but without feeling like Broadway Goth. It’s reminiscent of a lot of the Irish folk I grew up listening to. Love it.
Brendan
February 11, 2015 @ 11:01 am
Any rumors of a new album from Isbell?
Jack Williams
February 11, 2015 @ 11:13 am
He’s going into the studio next month. And no tour dates on the schedule at all for March. When I saw him in Charlottesville last week, he said he hoped to be back in the summer to support the new album.
emfrank
February 11, 2015 @ 2:51 pm
Saw him live last night and he said it would be out this summer.
musicfan
February 11, 2015 @ 11:46 am
Here’s an interview he did with the alt-weekly paper in Kansas City:
http://m.pitch.com/kansascity/jason-isbell-banishes-his-monsters/Content?oid=5052817
Jared
February 12, 2015 @ 2:28 pm
I just can’t get excited about this. I prefer the duo’s vocals on Southeastern; or as much as I hate saying this, Jason’s collaborations with (his first wife) Shonna on Sirens of the Ditch – especially In a Razor Town. Maybe its just that they’re covering Zevon…still can’t forgive DBT for butchering “Play it All Night Long.”