Still fairly hot on the heels of 2023’s Grammy-winning Weathervanes, Jason Isbell is back with news of a new album, Foxes in the Snow. Out March 7th via Isbell’s Southeastern Records, the album will mark the decorated Alabama singer-songwriter’s first-ever solo acoustic album and first release sans The 400 Unit since 2015’s Something More Than Free.
Foxes in the Snow and lead single “Bury Me” show a long-awaited return to form for Isbell. After parting ways with Drive-By Truckers in 2007 amid mounting substance abuse issues, Isbell delivered his rather pedestrian solo debut Sirens of the Ditch followed by a pair of studio albums of increasing quality with his new backing band The 400 Unit. Though 2011’s Here We Rest with The Unit showed a new creative apex, it paled in comparison to what still stands as Isbell’s career-defining work, 2013’s Southeastern.
Leaving The Unit behind, the universally acclaimed solo album cemented Isbell’s place as one of alt-country’s most powerful voices and produced his most iconic song, “Cover Me Up”. In addition to unflinching lyrical vulnerability, the album took on an added rawness for the circumstances behind its recording. Fresh out of rehab, Isbell recorded his vocal tracks live in producer Dave Cobb‘s living room—the start of a long and fruitful relationship with the touchstone alt-country producer, who got the gig after Ryan Adams backed out at the last minute. Additionally, Isbell finished recording Southeastern days before marrying Amanda Shires—a muse found throughout the album as Isbell credits his wife with helping him achieve long-term sobriety.
Fast forward 12 years and Isbell has become an elder statesman of Nashville’s new country movement. It’s with this confidence that he decided to strip back Foxes in the Snow for an all-acoustic album of just his voice and the same mahogany 1940 Martin 0-17 acoustic guitar across the 11 tracks—recorded in five days at New York City’s Electric Lady Studios in October 2024. Additionally, this return to the solo album comes at another time of personal upheaval as Isbell divorces from Shires and takes a step back from public view by deactivating his previously prolifically active X (formerly known as Twitter) account.
Throughout Foxes in the Snow, there will be the temptation to try and connect lyrics to Isbell’s personal life. This is the double-edged sword of an artist who has lived their life through songs (plus a documentary) and invited fans to come along. By nature of his honest lyricism, Isbell has given listeners a window into his life, but by limiting his online exposure he has drawn the blinds a bit. As fans, the best we can do is try not to peer through the shades. Juicy details are best left to the gossip rags. What we find in “Bury Me” and Foxes in the Snow is how Jason Isbell interprets the world around him and whatever changes that entails. For now, just have a chuckle at the chorus’ triple entendre.
I ain’t no cowboy but I can ride
I ain’t no outlaw but I’ve been inside
There were bars of steel boys and there were bars to sing
There were bars with swinging doors
For all the time between
Check out the lead single “Bury Me” from the upcoming Jason Isbell solo album Foxes in the Snow, available here for pre-order. Isbell will take the new album on the road with an entirely solo U.S. tour, set to begin on February 15th in Chicago. Find tickets on Ticketmaster or try the secondary market.
Jason Isbell — “Bury Me”
