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Jason Isbell’s ‘Foxes in the Snow’ Treads Dual Paths — Half Harrowing Divorce Record, Half Exultant Chronicle of Fresh Affections: Album Review
Jason Isbell's true solo record, 'Foxes in the Snow,' is fascinatingly split between being a rueful 'divorce album' and a chronicle of fresh love.
He sings of casual racism that mixed right in with seemingly innocuous signs of local pride that he experienced in his upbringing: “We prayed to Martha White / Little noose in a locker / Brown eyes crying in the hall / Rebel flags on the highway / Wooden crosses on the wall.” There’s a half-reconciliatory climax to the song that declares he just can’t, or won’t, walk away entirely from where he was raised: “Guess the small town didn’t suit me after all / There’s still so many lonely kids, surrounded by the rest of y’all / I can’t seem to keep myself away / So I head back to the crimson and the clay.” The right-wingers who troll Isbell on social media may respond that it’s fine if he wants to stay away, but anyone who shares a similar predicament with the singer (which is to say, tens and tens of millions of people) might take some comfort in adopting “Crimson and Clay” as an anthem, to help get through these politically and geographically polarized times. In that same song, he references his famous sobriety when, speaking of falling in love, he affirms: “Last time I tried this sober, I was 17.” Those familiar with his redemption story will know the tale of how Isbell entered into his long-standing relationship with Shires when he was out of control and well short of being on any wagon, so the detail rings true. You might be thinking “Gravelweed” must be the hairiest song on the album, and that’s because you haven’t yet gotten to the soon-to-be-wildly dissected “True Believer.” There, Isbell opens each refrain with “All your girlfriends say I broke your fucking heart, and I don’t like it,” which, whether you love it or not, is a hell of a bold chorus hook.
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