Sound & Fury - Sturgill Simpson: Review
is a Kentucky based country music singer-songwriter who has made waves in the past few years for combining country music with numerous other genres and pushing the genre forward with his Best Album Grammy nominated 2016 record A Sailor's Guide To Earth.
Review By Lavender:
I first stumbled upon Sturgill Simpson based on a recommendation for his last record and it turned out to be a really positive experience. I was glad to see him score a Grammy nomination and some well deserved recognition on the back of that record and was excited to see what he had coming next. Unfortunately the record has all I needed to hear about the blaring 70's rock influence that appears across this entire album, and it works far less often than it doesn't.
The album honestly gets off to a decent start with its first handful of tracks and a moment right at the end. Ronin is the opening track and a very interesting start to the record with some blistering psychedelic guitar and fuzzed out vocal samples, it is mostly a tone setter for the album. Remember To Breathe is the first indicator of a change of pace for Sturgill with bouncy percussion and jammy electric guitar, his vocal presence is huge even though a few times it fucks with the mix in some of the most dramatic points. This song is what Hozier would sound like if he was a little bit more interesting. The real highlight is Sing Along the albums lone single and a track that comes off as an awesome Black Keys song. I will say the interest doesn't last quite as long as the song does and for a highlight it does get a touch boring in its last minute. Best Clockmaker On Mars is a cool track that sounds like Queens Of The Stone Age in space. It's got these really potent synths that back a jammy guitar riff and while I wish the vocals were mixed a little clearer specifically on this track I do still enjoy it as a whole. Fastest Horse In Town is probably the most complete track here as a closing song that goes over seven minutes. It is a grand and dramatic closer that plays so much more into Sturgill's strengths than most of the record does. It has a grand closing moment that ties the album up well with some harsh vocals and driving composition.
Unfortunately some of the problems of the songs above get much worse in other tracks and drag the album down hard. A Good Look is not a song that works on any level, it sounds like Fuck Buttons meets Beck but neither is pulled off well with the rootsy singing completely contrast with the mathematical timing of the stuttering beat and blaring synths, it just all seems really ill conceived. Make Art Not Friends has some decent sections but the same dry chord progression gets beaten absolutely to death over the course of the songs six minutes and a number of moments where the instrumental drops out and gets replaced by some really ugly shrill keys that just confuse me.
All Said And Done isn't the worse song here but it does work in some corny 70's power ballad influence that doesn't really thrill me. Last Man Standing is a track that takes a bouncy beach rock approach to Sturgill's sound but none of the sweetness of that kind of music shines through as the track has far to heavy and messy of a mix to be enjoyable. Finally Mercury In Retrograde may be the worst track here, if you ever wanted to hear what bro country would sound like over a Blondie instrumental then Sturgill has all you need.
Sound & Fury was an album I wanted to like, and I admire Sturgill Simpson for continuing to push the envelope in country music, but this is all just in pursuit of an idea that doesn't really work. The combination of his slow and steady country vocals and lyrical progression paired with the jammy 70's guitar rock and industrial tinged electronics is one that is more often annoying than groundbreaking. While I will still be looking forward for what direction Sturgill takes next this is an experiment I would more like to forget about. 5/10
For more rootsy rock music check out my review of The Black Keys Let's Rock here
