Tyler Childers– the Platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated artist with deep Appalachian roots – can be full of surprises. He’s given talks about racism and police violence; he’s used acountry musicvideo to tell a gay love story. Even long-time fans can’t be sure what to expect. With his new albumSnipe Hunter, Childers manages to cover all the ground.
Bringing in Rick Rubin helped Childers expand what he does, roughing up some songs while adding depth to others. He sings traditionalmusic, and he experiments; he’s deadly serious, and he’s hilariously comic. The album spans a wide range of styles, but Childers grounds it with reflections on his past and roots, giving it cohesion.
13"Down Under"
It’s a testament to the album’s strength that “Down Under” stands as the weakest song on it. It’s catchy and full of funny and memorable lines.Childers talks about koalas having STDs and “crocodilian convicts” while musing about his travels in Australia.He expresses a love-to-hate-it feeling that’s far more humorous than bitter.
As enjoyable as the song is, it’s simply too slight. It relies on a pop sensibility that never quite translates. While the song’s surprising on first listen, it doesn’t hold up once the jokes have been told, especially given that references to kangaroos and Vegemite can only take you so far. It’s a nice mood shift for the album, but it doesn’t compare to Childers' best work.
12"Snipe Hunt"
The album only has that one true misstep; otherwise, it’s strong throughout. Oddly, the next weakest song on the album is the (sort of) title track. “Snipe Hunt” shows Childers in a more rollicking mood, the drum beat and the organ moving the album into true Southern rock territory. The band cuts loose, and while the lyricist might not be having fun, everyone else is.
Childers delivers a pretty serious meditation, covering a dark period of his life.He mixes regret with newfound wisdom and considers the ways that he’s gotten off track (particularly by letting anger or bitterness get the better of him).At the same time, he shares his hopes that he can regain focus and hold onto it from this point on.
11"Poachers"
“Poachers” mixes storytelling with personal reflection, an approach that suits the album well, given that Childers frequently organizes his memories onSnipe Hunter. Here, he begins with a hunting tale, an almost comic take on how much we actually need to obey game commission regulations.
The song shifts into a consideration of drug use and the possibility of backsliding (Childers has been sober for about five years). He references moments from his own career while thinking about the dangers of prison (the references to miners are effective here), but he also uses that to think about the trap of slipping up as a public personality (“the one on the radio”).
10"Cuttin' Teeth"
Snipe Huntercontains a fair bit of experimentation, but Childers routinely uses more traditional songs to anchor the album. “Cuttin' Teeth” foregrounds a steel guitar to help establish this track as pure country. The sound suits the lyrics, which essentially tell the story of Childers (or a fictional stand-in) finding his way in the music business.
To value the song’s solidity isn’t to undermine its creativity.It’s a perfectly executed track, and the musical traditions help the story come to life.If Childers is playing a West Virginia honky tonk, this is the music to soundtrack it. It functions better within the album, helping to launch an arc that’s going to cover several continents and a good bit of personal change.
9"Getting To The Bottom"
“Getting To The Bottom” also thinks about substance abuse. He imagines old friends getting altered and stumbling through their night, only to forget everything that happens.Childers never wants to experience that life again, and he thinks about how difficult it is to get to the bottom, to hit a crisis.
The piano carries this song, its mid-tempo country conveying the head-shaking. The cut also has one of the album’s most memorable (and startling lines): “I wonder if it’s hotter than the devil’s d*ck on fire / In a wool sock that is soaked / I mean completely doused / In kerosene and set ablaze.” That’s pretty much the bottom.
8"Watch Out"
Childers' songwriting has long benefited from the artist’s ability to so precisely ground his songs. “Watch Out” comes straight from Appalachia, full of homespun wisdom about navigating the woods safely. The music picks up an almost trance-blues groove to keep us rooted, moving steadily through the mountains.
Childers sings of how to avoid copperheads and mama bears, but he also thinks about the people that his environmental explorations connect him to.These relationships give value to his surroundings, so he can not only avoid the bad, but also find the good, the cohosh or the oyster mushrooms (“your daddy’s favorite”).
7"Tomcat And A Dandy"
“Tomcat And A Dandy” gets one foot out of Appalachia and plants another in India, part of that long traveling arc tucked into the album. Childers mixes a traditional country waltz and fiddle tune with Eastern drone and “Hare Krishna” chants. He sings of his wanderings through Kentucky and the Virginias while the choir provides a steady reminder of his journey east.
Over the blended music, Childers sings of his spiritual maturity.He looks back on his younger days, not proudly, when he was “a tomcat and a dandy.“By the end, he considers what his funeral might look like, and whether or not he’ll be remembered for those licentious, partying days.
6"Bitin' List”
Like “Down Under,” “Bitin' List” brings a heavy dose of humor toSnipe Hunter,although this time it has a little more teeth (so to speak). Childers reveals his hate to an unnamed audience, the person who “if there ever come a time I got rabies / You’re high on my bitin' list.” It’s bitter, wild, and absolutely a blast.
It’s also probably the only song ever recorded that includes the phrase “seizure fraught spinal rot,” which is quality ground to break.Childers is having fun with this one as he vents some spleen, but there’s no sacrifice in his lyricism.
Here he gets as direct as possible: “To put it plain, I just don’t like you/ Not a thing about the way you is,” the perfect sentiment for anyone feeling seethingly angry.
5"Nose on the Grindstone”
“Nose on the Grindstone” has been around since 2017, when Childers performed a solo acoustic version forOurVinyl Sessions. For this proper release, he adds some more instrumentation, most notably an organ, to fill out its haunting sound. It stays stripped back, keeping its classic Childers sound (which should suit fans of Jason Isbell, too).
He sings of his struggles to stick to the narrow path, remembering his father’s advice to “keep your nose on the grindstone and out of the pills.“Childers again hints at his own battle with addiction, relying on familial strength to look for the right path forward.The song maintains a sense of melancholy that suits its somber lyrics.
4"Dirty Ought Trill”
“Dirty Ought Trill” returns to the story of Trill, a character from “Poachers” based on Childers' friend Dylan. It also reminds us of Childers' love for hunting dogs. Trill and his Belgian Malinois Uzi make a powerful combination in the field, and no prey is going to escape this persistent dog and his sharpshooting owner.
The track has less noticeable subtext than other numbers on the record, but it returnsSnipe Hunterto the wilderness context of its opening.It’s a comfortable and fitting way to close out the album, a swampy rock stomper that sounds as contemporary as it does classic, and just enough off-kilter to suitSnipe Hunter.
