Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Jason Isbell’s lofty reputation for songwriting — bolstered by an admiring David Crosby, who compared him to titans such as Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell — was set by his breakthrough album Southeastern. Released in 2013, it marked the former Drive-By Truckers guitarist’s recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. It also followed his marriage to fellow Nashville singer-songwriter Amanda Shires.When he sang, “I’ve grown tired of travelling alone, won’t you ride with me?” on one of its songs, she joined him on fiddle and backing vocals. But Shires is not riding with him on his new album. Nor are the members of his regular backing band, The 400 Unit. Although Foxes in the Snow returns to the acoustic-guitar terrain of Southeastern, its songs are performed by Isbell on his own. The result is a pointed kind of companion album — an ex-companion album, one might say.Foxes in the Snow is his first record since filing for divorce from Shires in 2023. It was made in New York’s Electric Lady Studios in just five days. The set-up is Isbell and his vintage acoustic guitar, which he strums and picks, producing intricate old-timey patterns that curl and loop like immaculate copperplate script.Letters feature in a couple of tracks; the songs perform a similar function. They are mostly addressed to a female “you” who takes two forms: an ex-lover and a new lover. The latter is the first to appear, in “Ride to Robert’s”, a dappled country reminiscence about a Friday-night outing to a famous Nashville bar. “I don’t say things that I don’t mean,” Isbell sings: “You’re the best thing I’ve ever seen.”It is followed by a break-up song, “Eileen”. “Do I mean to be alone for all my days?” Isbell keens this time, muddying the sentiment of the previous song. Meanings change according to circumstance, as he incisively points out in “Gravelweed”, a farewell apparently directed at Shires: “I’m sorry the love songs all mean different things today.” But the album’s mixed messaging also points to a dashed-out quality.Despite the beautiful clarity of Isbell’s guitar-playing and his expressive singing, the songs have a slippery aspect. They do not attempt to be cryptic, but nor do they develop their stories, observations or emotions as cogently as they might. For all its quality craftsmanship, Foxes in the Snow leaves a muddled trail.★★★☆☆‘Foxes in the Snow’ is released by Southeastern Records
