Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit made their debut album in 2009, and it plays like a band still finding its footing. The record runs 52 minutes across 11 tracks, and it leans hard on country rock, acoustic guitar, and the kind of storytelling that turns personal history into something anyone can hear themselves in. It is not a polished studio record, and it does not pretend to be. It is a live-sounding document of a working band figuring out what it wants to sound like.
Seven-Mile Island Through No Choice in the Matter
The record opens with “Seven-Mile Island,” a track that sets the tone immediately: acoustic guitar, a steady drum pulse, and lyrics about a place that feels both fixed and fading. It is a strong start, and it shows the band’s knack for making a small town feel big.
“Sunstroke” follows at 5:16, and it stretches out without losing focus. The song builds slowly, layering instruments until it reaches a peak that feels earned rather than forced. It is one of the album’s best moments.
“Good” runs 4:45 and works as a solid bridge track, though it does not quite match the ambition of what surrounds it. “Cigarettes and Wine” is the longest track on the record at 6:45, and it earns that length through patient arrangement and a slow-burning melody. The song does not rush anywhere, and it does not need to.
“However Long” and “Coda” sit back-to-back at 4:18 and 2:06 respectively, and they serve as a quiet pivot. “Coda” is brief and almost instrumental, a pause before the album’s final stretch.
The Blue Through The Last Song I Will Write
“The Blue” at 4:58 is one of the record’s high points. It is a song about distance and memory, and it lands with a weight that the shorter tracks around it sometimes lack. “No Choice in the Matter” follows at 5:30 and is a darker, more reflective piece, built on a simple chord progression that carries real emotional weight.
“Soldiers Get Strange” is a tight, four-minute track that leans into the band’s country roots without losing its identity. It is a solid entry in the middle of the album, though it does not demand attention the way some of the surrounding songs do.
“Streetlights” closes the main body of the record at 4:11, and it is a quiet, reflective closer that sets up the final track. It is not a statement track, but it holds the album together.
The Last Song I Will Write
The record ends with “The Last Song I Will Write,” a five-and-a-half-minute closer that promises exactly what it delivers. It is a fitting end to the album, a song about endings that does not overreach.
“The Last Song I Will Write”
The album’s weakest moments are not failures so much as places where the band settles for competent rather than striking. “Good” and “Soldiers Get Strange” are both solid, but they do not push the record forward the way “Sunstroke” or “The Blue” do. The shorter tracks like “Coda” and “Streetlights” are functional, but they are the ones that get skipped on repeat listens.
What holds the record together is the consistency of its approach. This is a band that knows what it sounds like, even if it is still learning how to build a full album around that sound.
Verdict
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit is a debut that announces a promising career rather than a finished product. The best tracks — “Sunstroke,” “The Blue,” “Coda,” and “The Last Song I Will Write” — are as good as anything else in country rock at the time, and they hold up well on their own. The weaker tracks are serviceable rather than memorable, and they drag down the overall experience slightly.
The album is worth hearing from start to finish, but it rewards the listener who pays attention to the peaks and ignores the valleys. It is a record that shows promise, and it leaves the listener wanting to hear more from the band.
- Seven-Mile Island4:17
- Sunstroke5:16
- Good4:45
- Cigarettes and Wine6:45
- However Long4:18
- Coda2:06
- The Blue4:58
- No Choice in the Matter5:30
- Soldiers Get Strange4:08
- Streetlights4:11
- The Last Song I Will Write5:54
