Long Violent History punctured any notion that Childers was an artist afraid to make a statement.
#ROAD TO NOWHERE LYRICS FULL#
In one of the song's most affecting verses, Childers sings, "How many boys could they haul off this mountain, shoot full of holes, cuffed, and laid in the streets/ 'Til we come in to town in a stark ravin' anger, Looking for answers and armed to the teeth." Written and recorded in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd, Long Violent History is the most potent of Childers' early political statements, a middle finger to the establishment as well as a heartfelt rebuke of part of the singer's own complex Southern culture.Ĭhilders caps Long Violent History with its title track, a biting rebuke of racial violence that seeks to bridge the empathy gap between white working Southerners and their Black neighbors. Like many artists, the unexpected break led him into an introspective period, which birthed his 2020 record, Long Violent History, a political statement framed as a fiddle album. Country Squire wasn't a far cry, sonically or thematically, from Purgatory, but it did establish Childers' staying power and laid sturdier groundwork for the more experimental projects he would later release.Ĭhilders was only able to tour Country Squire for a few months before the pandemic shut down the music industry. 1 on Billboard 's Top Country Albums chart, as well as his first Grammy nomination - in the Country Field, no less, as "All Your'n" received a nod for Best Country Solo Performance in 2020. Another Simpson/Ferguson-produced joint, the album earned the singer his first No. Growing in notoriety on the strength of Purgatory, Childers returned with 2019's Country Squire. And though Childers may fit the demographic, he decidedly doesn't adhere to the genre's clichés: Nowhere in his discography will you hear lyrics about back roads or pickup trucks, or the pop-heavy country fusion popular on current country radio. That purgatory is faced by many country artists who don't fit the genre's mold, which traditionally prioritizes straight, white, cisgender men or artists who hew closely to the Music Row formula du jour. That conflict came to a head when he won Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Honors and Awards, where he reluctantly accepted the award and told the audience, "As a man who identifies as a country music singer, I feel Americana ain't no part of nothing and is a distraction from the issues that we're facing on a bigger level as country music singers. To Childers' seeming dismay, Purgatory resonated more with Americana audiences than the country music industry - even despite his unabashedly country sound and heavily narrative songwriting, much of which nods to traditional country themes like labor, poverty and faith.
The LP opens with the hardscrabble old-time of opener "I Swear (to God)," whose Biblical allusions ("workin' on a building outta hand-hewn brimstone") won't be the last we hear from Childers in his work. Purgatory tied together Childers' many influences, which span bluegrass, gospel, blues and outlaw country. It's fitting, then, that Simpson (alongside David Ferguson ) would produce Purgatory, with his own critical clout and cult success functioning like a stamp of approval for the then-relatively unknown new artist. He did so following in the footsteps of another Kentuckian, Sturgill Simpson, who also famously avoids media, shares little about his personal life, and can be unpredictable with the timing and scope of his projects. Ĭhilders was one of the first of a new generation of country artists to reject the traditional machinations of Nashville's Music Row in favor of building grassroots support for making music on their own terms. In the years between its release and Purgatory 's, Childers further honed his songwriting and his singing by touring relentlessly with his band, the Food Stamps, which also helped build the fan base that would rabidly support Purgatory. That record was raw and stripped-down, with spare production putting the spotlight firmly on his narrative-driven lyrics and his now-beloved soulful drawl. While Childers first gained acclaim with his second studio album, 2017's Purgatory, his 2011 debut, Bottles & Bibles, hinted at what was to come.
Now, he's one of country music's favorite outsider voices - and he continues to move the needle with his Elvis -inspired sixth album, Rustin' in the Rain. The Lawrence County, Kentucky native first built a grassroots following with his left-of-center country style, becoming a cult figure respected for his traditionally informed take on the genre and his unabashed authenticity. Tyler Childers has made a career out of doing things differently.
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