Music Review: “Speed Trap Town” by Jason Isbell

David McClister


TRACK 8

“Speed Trap Town”

From Jason Isbell’s Something More Than Free

Southeastern Records

Liner notes: Isbell embodies bedraggled resilience on an aching acoustic ballad about a toxic home, singing, “It never did occur to me to leave before tonight.”

Behind the music: The Alabama-born singer was only the third songwriting option in Drive-By Truckers, after Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, but has blossomed as a solo artist.

Check it out if you like: Underdog champions (Steve Earle, John Mellencamp).

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