Sturgill Simpson’s 2014 album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music was a sprawling psychedelic take on the outlaw-country tradition, with Simpson’s honeyed baritone serving as a guide through a world of hallucinogens, turtles, and reincarnation. Now, Simpson has announced that album’s followup, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, to be released on April 15 via Atlantic.
The album, which Simpson produced himself, is written as a letter to his young son, who was born in 2014. In addition to his eight originals, it also includes a cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom,” as well as an appearance by Sharon Jones’ backing band, the Dap Kings.
Simpson’s also released the album’s first single, the moody “Brace for Impact (Live a Little),” which channels Drive-By Truckers’ gasoline-fumed angst as much as it does Waylon Jennings’ shit-kicking ways. You can give it a listen, and check out a handful of live dates, below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miFepGMB55Q
A Sailor’s Guide to Earth track list
