Retro Review: Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide to Earth

Sturgill hooked me from the first listen as he worked psychedelic sounds and existential questions into a classic country framework. He had managed to create an album that appealed to modern pop-country fans, traditional country fans, alt-country fans, and even indie rock fans. His shows were a melange of people from the city to the suburbs to the holler as he became the vanguard of the country revival (a responsibility I’m not sure he ever really wanted or enjoyed). To say the follow-up to Metamodern Sounds was highly anticipated would be an understatement.