Reunions (album)

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Reunions
Studio album by
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
ReleasedMay 15, 2020 (2020-05-15)
Recorded2019
StudioRCA Studio A (Nashville)
GenreAmericana, folk rock
Length41:10
LabelSoutheastern
ProducerDave Cobb
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit chronology
The Nashville Sound
(2017) 		Reunions
(2020) 		Georgia Blue
(2021)

Reunions is the seventh studio album by Jason Isbell, and the fourth credited to "Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit". In an attempt to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the album was released by Southeastern Records in independent record stores on May 8, 2020, which was one week before its wide release on May 15.[1] The songs "Be Afraid", "What've I Done to Help", and "Only Children" were released as singles prior to the release of the full album.[1] In the United States, Reunions peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Background[edit]

Isbell has noted that the common thread throughout the album is reunions with ghosts, both living and dead, from his past life. He told Vinyl Me, Please magazine that "there’s ghosts all over the record, and that’s why I called it Reunions, because that’s what a ghost is: reuniting with somebody long enough for them to tell you what you missed the first time around."[2]

In an interview with NPR Music, he elaborated, saying that "initially, I was just trying to write a bunch of good songs and I think that's always how it starts for me...What happened with this record: after I wrote a couple songs, I started noticing patterns. I started seeing the fact that I was going back in time and reconnecting, at least on a psychological level, with a lot of the people, a lot of the relationships that I had growing up and when I was younger and before I got sober. I got sober eight and a half years ago. For a long spell, between the time when I got sober and just the last couple years, it was really difficult for me to revisit those times in a way that was anything less than judgmental. Because I had to look back at myself with disdain and not risk turning back into the person I used to be."[3]

Songs like "Only Children" and "Dreamsicle" take a bittersweet look back at Isbell's childhood, while "Be Afraid" and "What've I Done To Help" address current events and political anxiety in the United States. "It Gets Easier" explicitly addresses the struggles of Isbell's newfound sobriety with the refrain: "it gets easier, but it never gets easy"; he told NPR that "The song is about looking at this from a perspective of time, and the fact that the song happens to a person who isn't recently sober, somebody who's been working on it for a while."[3]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
American Songwriter[6]
And It Don't Stop(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[7]
Exclaim!9/10[8]
Flood Magazine7/10[9]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[10]
Paste8/10[11]
Pitchfork7.8/10[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
Under the Radar8/10[14]

The album received positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 based on 16 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[4]

Mark Deming of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars and commented on how it seemed to address the anxiety and unrest resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, despite being written before it began: "The fact these songs seem so telling in a strange and difficult time has a bit to do with coincidence, but more important is the excellence of Isbell's songwriting".[5] In his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau highlighted the songs "It Gets Easier" and "What've I Done to Help?", and wrote of the album: "Lest anyone think he’s full of himself, this brave, soulful, articulate Nashville conscience singer turns the high beam on his own moral shortcomings".[7]

Accolades[edit]

Accolades for Reunions
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Billboard Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
N/A
[15]
Top 50 Best Albums of 2020 30 [16]
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2020 11 [17]
Double J Top 50 Albums of 2020 31 [18]
Mojo Top 75 Albums of 2020 73 [19]
Paste Paste's 25 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
6
[20]
The 50 Best Albums of 2020 12 [21]
PopMatters The 60 Best Albums of 2020 25 [22]
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
11
[23]
The 50 Best Albums of 2020
37
[24]
Rolling Stone The 50 Best Albums of 2020 28 [25]
Variety Variety's Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
N/A
[26]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks written by Jason Isbell except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."What've I Done to Help" (Isbell, Michael Kiwanuka)6:40
2."Dreamsicle"3:44
3."Only Children"3:57
4."Overseas"5:07
5."Running with Our Eyes Closed"3:42
6."River"3:22
7."Be Afraid"3:19
8."St. Peter's Autograph"4:11
9."It Gets Easier"3:47
10."Letting You Go"3:23
Total length:41:10

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[27]

The 400 Unit
  • Jason Isbell – vocals, background vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano
  • Derry Deborja – piano, organ, keyboards, omnichord
  • Chad Gamble – drums, tambourine
  • Jimbo Hart – bass
  • Amanda Shires – fiddle, background vocals
  • Sadler Vaden – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, nylon acoustic guitar
Additional musicians
Production and design
  • Dave Cobb – producer, mixing
  • Gena Johnson – engineer
  • Toby Hurlbert – assistant engineer
  • Pete Lyman – mastering
  • Daniel Bacigalupi – mastering assistant
  • Jason Isbell – cover photo
  • Chantry Barnett – cover model
  • Keir Novesky – custom title lettering
  • Fetzer Design – art direction

Charts[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Freeman, Jon. "Jason Isbell Supports Indie Record Stores With Early 'Reunions' Release". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  2. ^ Domenighini, Annalise (May 14, 2020). "Jason Isbell And Practice Of Reuniting With Ghosts". Vinyl Me, Please. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Kelly, Mary Louise (May 15, 2020). "Jason Isbell On The Past Lives That Inspired His New Album, 'Reunions'". NPR. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Deming, Mark. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Zimmermann, Lee (May 12, 2020). "American Songwriter Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (July 8, 2020). "Consumer Guide: July, 2020". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  8. ^ Mulling, Kyle (May 13, 2020). "Jason Isbell Gets Real About Sobriety on Gripping, Heart-Wrenching 'Reunions'". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  9. ^ Fennell, Sean (May 28, 2020). "Flood Magazine Review". Flood Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  10. ^ Lily Large, Meghan (May 13, 2020). "On his seventh studio album, Jason Isbell magnificently explores the human connection". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  11. ^ Danton, Eric (May 12, 2020). "Jason Isbell Wrestles With Ghosts on Reunions". Paste. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  12. ^ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (May 14, 2020). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  13. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (May 14, 2020). "Jason Isbell Looks Backward and Sees Ghosts on the Probing 'Reunions'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  14. ^ Uitti, Jake (June 3, 2020). "Under the Radar Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  15. ^ Billboard Staff (June 9, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  16. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020: Staff Picks". Billboard. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  17. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  18. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Double J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  19. ^ Pearis, Bill (November 17, 2020). "MOJO's Top 75 Albums of 2020". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  20. ^ "The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Paste. June 8, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  21. ^ Paste Staff (November 25, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Paste. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  22. ^ "The 60 Best Albums of 2020". PopMatters. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  23. ^ "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  24. ^ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2020". Stereogum. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  25. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Rolling Stone. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  26. ^ Aswad, Jem; Willman, Chris; Barker, Andrew (June 5, 2020). "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Variety. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  27. ^ "Jason Isbell/Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit: Reunions Credits". AllMusic.com. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  28. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  30. ^ "Jason Isbell, CNA". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  31. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  32. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  33. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  35. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  36. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  37. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  38. ^ Caulfield, Keith (May 24, 2020). "Future Flies 'High' With Seventh No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  39. ^ "Top Country Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  40. ^ "Americana/Folk Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  41. ^ "Top Rock Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  42. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  43. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
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