What happened to my man's melodies?

At the risk of this thread being one of those memes where the guy has a thousand knives pointed at him, I've gotta ask if I'm the only one feeling this way.

Been listening to the new album and while I feel it's objectively good art...emotional, personal, technically sound, great writing...I'm just not hearing the melodic genius I'm used to from Isbell anymore, and I've felt that way about the last few projects.

Most will tell you he got here off being a songwriting giant, but I've always felt he was just as much of a melodic heavyweight and that's what really made Southeastern, SMTF, Nashville Sound, and even his DBT stuff really pop off and stand out.

Those melodies stick in your head, they bring you back enough times to hear the words and then that puzzle piece falls into place. I just haven't had that experience with these recent albums unfortunately.