Reunions (album)
Reunions is the seventh studio album released by Jason Isbell, and the fourth accompanied by his backing band The 400 Unit. It was released first in independent record stores on May 8, 2020, through Southeastern Records, intended to help small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] It received a wide release a week later on May 15, 2020. The songs "Be Afraid", "What've I Done to Help", and "Only Children" were released as singles prior to the album's release.[1] Reunions peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
Reunions | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 15, 2020 | |||
Recorded | 2019 | |||
Studio | RCA Studio A (Nashville, Tennessee) | |||
Genre | Americana | |||
Length | 41:10 | |||
Label | Southeastern | |||
Producer | Dave Cobb | |||
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit chronology | ||||
|
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Album of the Year | 79/100[2] |
Metacritic | 82/100[3] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
American Songwriter | |
And It Don't Stop | |
Exclaim! | 9/10[7] |
Flood Magazine | 7/10[8] |
The Line of Best Fit | 8/10[9] |
Paste | 8/10[10] |
Pitchfork | 7.8/10[11] |
Rolling Stone | |
Under the Radar | 8/10[13] |
Reunions was met with universal acclaim reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 82, based on 15 reviews.[3]
In his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau highlighted the songs "It Gets Easier" and "What've I Done to Help?" while writing in summation 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".[6]
Track listing
All tracks written by Jason Isbell except where noted.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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 |
Charts
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] | 19 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] | 138 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[20] | 58 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 27 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] | 94 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23] | 10 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[24] | 2 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25] | 31 |
UK Albums (OCC)[26] | 18 |
UK Country Albums (OCC)[27] | 1 |
US Billboard 200[28] | 9 |
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[29] | 1 |
US Top Folk Albums (Billboard)[30] | 1 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[31] | 1 |
References
- Freeman, Jon. "Jason Isbell Supports Indie Record Stores With Early 'Reunions' Release". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Deming, Mark. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Zimmermann, Lee (May 12, 2020). "American Songwriter Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Christgau, Robert (July 8, 2020). "Consumer Guide: July, 2020". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- Mulling, Kyle (May 13, 2020). "Jason Isbell Gets Real About Sobriety on Gripping, Heart-Wrenching 'Reunions'". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Fennell, Sean (May 28, 2020). "Flood Magazine Review". Flood Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- 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.
- Danton, Eric (May 12, 2020). "Jason Isbell Wrestles With Ghosts on Reunions". Paste. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (May 14, 2020). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Bernstein, Jonathan (May 14, 2020). "Jason Isbell Looks Backward and Sees Ghosts on the Probing 'Reunions'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Uitti, Jake (June 3, 2020). "Under the Radar Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Billboard Staff (June 9, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- "The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Paste. June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- Aswad, Jem; Willman, Chris; Barker, Andrew (June 5, 2020). "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Variety. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- "Australiancharts.com – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- "Ultratop.be – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- "Jason Isbell, CNA". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Reunions". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- Caulfield, Keith (May 24, 2020). "Future Flies 'High' With Seventh No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- "Top Country Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- "Americana/Folk Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- "Top Rock Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2020.