Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit explore the biggest questions about life and death while delivering soul-shaking Americana on their latest release.
Blame it on the coronavirus restricting our access to normal life or the digital revolution emphasizing constant contact over a human connection, but people are aching for genuine relationships. We long to return to simpler times, back when hugging those you love didn’t feel like a high-risk activity, and the world was full of exciting possibilities. I choose to believe we will return to that time sooner than later, but until then, we have Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit‘s new album Reunions to remind us what matters most in life.
Isbell is above all things a storyteller. His career is full of real and fictitious accounts of underdogs fighting for a life that often feels beyond their reach. His characters cling to love and family, even when it seems easier to let go, and they maintain hope for a brighter future despite all evidence. He never knows how things will pan out, nor does he claim otherwise, but he understands life is for the living. You can do your best with what you have, or you can wallow in sadness. The choice is yours.
Reunions examines the role we play in the world around us. Isbell and his band, The 400 Unit, leave no rock unturned in their search for answers to life’s biggest questions regarding purpose and grief. The album provides few solutions on either front but finds comfort in acknowledging that we are on this journey through the chaos of existence. If we can learn to love one another and shed the weight of stress and mistakes from our past, Isbell believes we can find a lasting sense of peace amidst the turmoil of our daily lives. It’s a big idea that some will think impossible, and he understands that. Rather than giving listeners an optimistic ear-beating, he focuses on crafting undeniably soulful songs in hopes people will reconsider our limitless potential for change.
Of course, none of this information will come as a surprise to longtime fans of Isbell’s work. His songs are known for tapping into a universal sense of sadness and anger regarding life, but Isbell always includes a silver lining. Life may be shorter than we want, but isn’t it a miracle we get to live at all? The mistakes of our youth can cripple our development as adults, but who would we be without those missteps? The songs on Reunions do not embrace the idea that everything happens for a reason. They do, however, urge listeners to accept the things we cannot change and move forward. Process your feelings, work through the pain, and keep going. That’s the only thing any of us can do.
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