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10.0
85892
10.0 |
Exclaim
While the best of the best learn to master country music, he's turning it into a whole new monster, one that's his and his only
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10.0
85968
10.0 |
The Irish Times
A reflective cover of Nirvana’s In Bloom is among the softer options but, unleashed or restrained, Simpson exudes a singular individualistic spirit
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10.0
86100
10.0 |
Pretty Much Amazing
It feels inherently wrong to be experiencing something so tender and well-rounded this early in his career. But it’s not wrong. It’s incredibly right, because A Sailor’s Guide is an incredible album
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10.0
86130
10.0 |
The Digital Fix
Put simply, this is Sturgill Simpson's masterpiece. Wonderfully cohesive, lyrically emotional, musically dense. A perfect tribute to his son and the emotional pull of family
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9.0
86050
9.0 |
Earbuddy
This is an unconventional album that can be disorienting to most, but gets better with every listen
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9.0
85897
9.0 |
PopMatters
Afforded creative freedom many felt would be stifled, Simpson’s latest musical offspring is a love letter we can all cherish
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9.0
85887
9.0 |
Uncut
It's a telling indication of the degree of daring and sophistication at hand that artistic gestures which might have seemed contrived or ill-conceived in other contexts yield some of the most startling results
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8.5
85950
8.5 |
Paste Magazine
It’s big and bold and sometimes messy, but never unfocused
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8.0
85961
8.0 |
The Guardian
The eight originals here are all top-notch, not overshadowed by the unexpected and sympathetic cover of Nirvana’s In Bloom
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8.0
86023
8.0 |
The FT
Big and expressive, a swaggering tour through country, southern soul and rock and roll heartlands
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8.0
86069
8.0 |
Pitchfork
Finds Sturgill Simpson weirder and more adventurous than ever, forging a bold new way forward
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8.0
85888
8.0 |
Mojo
Simpson invests this bold, widescreen music with such heartfelt and real pathos and joy that it announces him as a major talent
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8.0
85889
8.0 |
All Music
It's an old-fashioned concept album, one that tells a story - it's a letter to his newborn son, telling him how to become a man - and is dressed in garish art suited to the side of a Chevy van
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8.0
85890
8.0 |
The Independent
A skilled interpreter, Simpson’s bruised baritone murmur morphs to fit the contours of each song
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8.0
85932
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
Nashville rebel pens a song cycle to his son that’s full of soulful left-field brilliance
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8.0
85884
8.0 |
The Music
This is the sound of someone trying new things and testing his limits
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8.0
86364
8.0 |
Q
Country music's bold new talent shakes things up. Print edition only
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8.0
87186
8.0 |
Gig Soup
A touching and deeply personal album that not only showcases Sturgill Simpson’s considerable songwriting talents but also his ability to gamble and stretch himself as an artist
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8.0
86126
8.0 |
Slant Magazine
An astoundingly well-realized, consistently surprising, and mostly brilliant genre-bending experiment
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7.5
85885
7.5 |
Consequence Of Sound
Where gritty Skynyrd rock makes out with tarnished Memphis soul while hip-swiveling Elvis plays hall monitor
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7.5
86103
7.5 |
Beardfood
A good gateway record into a genre that’s not easy for everybody
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7.0
85886
7.0 |
Spin
On Earth, Simpson continues to have fun flipping the genre’s tropes on their head
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6.0
86028
6.0 |
The Observer
Not all of it gels, but as a treatise on male absence, Sturgill’s Guide is heartfelt
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