#40 - Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

High Top Mountain, 2014

Putting this one on for the first time in a couple years, I still have the same immediate reaction: “Goddamn, that sumbitch can SING.” Sturgill Simpson does his best to channel the ghosts of the outlaw country legends and does a hell of a job. It’s a country record for the people who listen to “everything but country.” Or maybe not. That’s a stupid answer to “what kind of music do you like” anway so I can’t expect those plebes would appreciate Simpson’s gifts. In addition to his commanding voice, he’s a hell of a songwriter. Opener “Turtles All the Way Down” is country music by way of an LSD trip and it’s a fascinating contrast. His cover of When in Rome’s 80s pop hit “The Promise” transforms the track into a melancholy torch song, and when it hits that crescendo, man just look out. If you’re not a true believer at that point I don’t know what to tell you. This is one of those albums that ticks all of the boxes. The songs are great, the lyrics are introspective, the musicians are locked in, and there’s not a dud to be found. This definitely still holds up five years later and I think we have an enduring classic on our hands.