Sirens of the Ditch
by Jason Isbell

Album details

US: 10 July 2007 on New West
UK: 9 July 2007 on New West

‘Sirens’ is the first solo release for the former Drive-By Truckers guitarist. He recorded it in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with the Truckers’ Patterson Hood, and the latter’s father, David, also guests (along with other members of his former band, and Spooner Oldham).

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The critical consensus

"It’s all top-shelf alt-country: road-hardened, literate and dark as ever," indicates Blender, and virtually every critic joined them in enjoying Isbell’s work. All Music Guide is also on board with the debut, calling it "remarkably mature and impressive." Entertainment Weekly calls Sirens "satisfying," while Harp labels the songs "tunefully diverse and memorable." Amazon finds the album familiar at first, but are eventually won over by Isbell’s songwriting, comparing him to "Richard Buckner, Raymond Carver, and Neil Young." (We don’t exactly remember Carver singing, but we get the point.) The Austin Chronicle likewise fails to hear any surprises, but the feel the disc "demonstrate[s] a wider range of styles and sentiments one sensed he always had in him." Pitchfork indicates that Sirens "occasionally sounds too slick," but otherwise can be classified as "a strong debut full of the kind of confident, charismatic songwriting that just can’t be taught." And Paste says, "Sirens proves he’s got the talent to make it on his own."

CokemachineGlow is neither the first nor the last publication to compare Isbell to a young Ryan Adams (Now Magazine does as well, but not in a good way), and while they enjoy the album overall, they find that Isbell may be "overreaching" in part. (Uncut prefers to phrase it "a bit of a stylistic scattershot.") In a positive review, PopMatters discounts the disc slightly for sounding "deceptively ordinary," countering that "it could be a Springsteen or John Hiatt record, professionally performed and plainly captured, yet executed with masterful effortlessness." Q pulls out yet another comparison, noting that Sirens is "the sort of multi-hued album upon which Tom Petty built his name."

Free of clutter and the Truckers’ overwhelming gravity, Sirens is the sound of a freshly liberated songwriter scouring his soul—and coming up full-handed.

- The Onion A.V. Club

Review roundup

Tracklisting and media

1. Brand New Kind Of Actress
2. Down In A Hole
3. Try
4. Chicago Promenade
5. Dress Blues
   (live performance:)
   
   
6. Grown
7. Hurricanes and Hand Grenades
8. In A Razor Town
9. Shotgun Wedding
10. The Magician
11. The Devil Is My Running Mate

Also on the web

• Official Artist Site
• Jason Isbell @ MySpace