Tyler Childers- Snipe Hunter
Label: RCA
Producer: Rick Rubin
For the better part of the last decade, Tyler Childers has carved out a uniquely powerful place within the overall music universe. His outspokenly poetic lyricism has earned him acclaim amongst the most elite of his peers; Americana royalty like the Jason Isbells and Sturgill Simpsons, who have rightfully reigned among the preeminent songwriting giants of our time. His rootsy sonic compass, deeply ingrained in the traditional sounds of honky-tonk, bluegrass and Appalachia, has meanwhile cast him as a hero to the purists who continue to deride the sounds of mainstream Nashville, generation after generation. And amongst it all, he has likewise ascended as one of the most rewardingly unlikely box-office concert draws, nipping at the heels of acts like Zach Bryan, in terms of artists who have become touring superstars without the support of the conventional industry channels.
Best of all is the fact that none of this widespread success has lured Childers away from the adventurous artistic path that has made him so beloved in the first place. His discography is easily one of the most thrillingly unpredictable in contemporary music (also like the similarly stylistically restless Simpson). In the past five years alone, we’ve seen him release an album of protest fiddle tunes, followed by a triple-album with multiple interpretations of the same eight gospel tunes, culminating in 2023’s In Your Love, a straight-forward country record that had no business being as sprawling as it was for a seven-song set. This all leads us to Snipe Hunter, Childers’ seventh studio outing, and unquestionably his most creatively daring project to date. It finds him uniting for the first time with legendary producer Rick Rubin, the sound wizard behind seminal albums by everyone from The Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, and Red Hot Chili Peppers to Johnny Cash, The Chicks, and The Avett Brothers. As with these acts and the host of others Rubin has produced, it’s clear throughout Hunter that Rubin clearly understands Childers’ artistic identity, but also isn’t afraid to help him push it to new limits.
Together, Childers and Rubin traverse through a baker’s dozen of the latter’s most gripping compositions to date. It’s truly one of those records where each successive song completely commands your attention, repeatedly changing your mind as to which track is your favorite. Opening cut, “Eatin’ Big Time” is an explosive introduction to the set, with Childers delivering what feels like the most rapturous vocal of his career to date, until you get to “Bitin’ List” four tracks later, of course. “List” immediately ranks as both one of the most ferocious and hilarious kiss-off anthems of all time, bolstered by the blistering and side-splitting hook, “And if there ever comes a time I got rabies, you’re high on my bitin’ list”. In between all of this delicious madness, Childers also graces us with the classic country heartache of “Cuttin’ Teeth”, his signature rustic romance on “Oneida”, and fascinating new contributions to the Outlaw country canon with “Getting to the Bottom” and the coal miner’s addict tale, “Nose on the Grindstone”, a long-time favorite in his live set that finally sees an overdue recorded version, with the collaborative magic of Childers and Rubin making the final results more than worth the wait.
Although that seems like a lofty impossibility given the fruitful depths of the album’s opening half, it is Sniper Hunter’s second act where Childer’s musical vision really takes on a newly diverse and evolutionary path. Tracks like “Down Under” and “Poachers” take us through a trippy exploration of the Australian outback, with Childers’ mysteriously rugged lyrics and delivery recalling greats like Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. Meanwhile, spitting tracks like the title song and closing cut “Dirty Ought Trill” are ravenous servings of flat-out Appalachian punk, while recalling the dizzying heights of Steve Earle’s peak period. But it’s the middle pair of songs in this stretch–“Tirtha Yatra” and “Tomcat and a Dandy”– where the record gets beautifully weird and extra exploratory. These songs tap into the Eastern spiritual learnings of Childers’ recent interest in the Hare Krishna movement, and the results are an utterly fascinating melting pot of these Eastern sonic influences and Childers’ signature blend of gospel, folk, and pre-bluegrass string music, with a dash of ragtime/parlor-hall flare for good measure. If it all sounds sort of chaotic on paper, rest assured that it is on record as well. But it’s also splendidly captured through Childers’ precise vision and Rubin’s tasteful arrangements. It’s truly this vibrant variety that gives Snipe Hunter its added enticing gravitas, and elevates it to a new, unique level of roots music magic.
Snipe Hunter is truly one of those rare wide-eyed and transformative records that reaches a special upper-echelon of popular music achievement. Tyler Childers reaches new artistic heights in an already impressive career trajectory; his songwriting and storytelling have never felt so equally uninhibited and fully-formed. Rick Rubin’s production is as exquisite and diversely connected with the individual artist he’s working with as it’s ever been, and the musicianship employed here is nothing short of excellent. For all its expansive evolution, Snipe Hunter remains loyally tethered to the pillars that have defined a Tyler Childers album from the very beginning, all while simultaneously reinventing new and fascinating depths as to what defines a Childers album altogether. Which, I suppose, is a definitive pillar of his music in the first place. Simply put, this is a landmark record right out of the gates, not just an album-of-the-year contender, but a body of work that will have a definitive status for decades to come.
Track Listing:
- “Eatin’ Big Time” (Tyler Childers)
- “Cuttin’ Teeth” (Childers)
- “Oneida” (Childers)
- “Getting to the Bottom” (Childers)
- “Bitin’ List” (Childers)
- “Nose on the Grindstone” (Childers)
- “Watch Out” (Childers)
- “Down Under” (Childers)
- “Poachers” (Childers)
- “Snipe Hunt” (Childers)
- “Tirtha Yatra” (Childers)
- “Tomcat and a Dandy” (Childers)
- “Dirty Ought Trill” (Childers)
The 706 
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