Jason Isbell Foxes in the Snow LP

TAS Rated 4/5 Music, 4.5/5 Sonics in the July/August 2025 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

Jason Isbell's 2025 solo album Foxes in the Snow was recorded in New York City at the famed Electric Lady Studios in October, 2024. Recorded entirely on the same all-mahogany 1940 Martin 0-17 acoustic guitar, and in the span of just five days, the album captures an artist at the peak of their powers; the virtuosic guitar playing and commanding vocal delivery on this collection is some of the most impressive of an already remarkable recording career.

Isbell is one of the most highly lauded songwriters of his generation, and this stripped back, bare-bones format puts his immense talent for evocative storytelling and the complete mastery of his craft on full display.

The first taste of the album is 'Bury Me,' and Isbell hasn't really ever released a song like this before. It's rustic, bare-bones Americana that's rawer than even the most stripped-back moments in his back catalog. It's the kind of song that could've come out at any point in the past 60 years, and it suits Jason very well.

Isbell is known for his stirring lyrics, nimble guitar-playing and strong singing. A stripped down recording, as heard on 'Bury Me,' makes those talents even more vivid.

Without his trusty band The 400 Unit, 'Bury Me' finds Isbell in particularly stripped-down and introspective mode. Featuring nothing more than his powerful voice and that mahogany six-string, both the performance and songwriting accomplish a lot with a little. Another near-flawless Isbell-penned country tune… who could have seen that one coming?

Foxes in the Snow gives Isbell a chance to show off his abilities as a vocalist and guitarist with no distraction; it turns out he's every bit as adept with an acoustic as he is with an electric, and he shares his stories with a master's touch. Jason Isbell is a singer and songwriter who is never afraid to do the work to make his music something special, and even when he's performing in stripped-down fashion, he delivers great songs and the commitment to make them special. Anyone who questions that hasn't heard Foxes in the Snow.

Arguably the Alabama-born musician's most intimate release...Isbell's pain is tempered by a poet's heart, intelligent and insightful.