Tyler Childers Purgatory

On his stunning debut, Tyler Childers embraces the same cosmic country sound of coproducer Sturgill Simpson, mixing dusky twang and badass attitude. The songs of the Kentucky singer/songwriter are filled with seriously flawed characters. On “Banded Clovis” the jailed narrator recalls killing a friend while under the influence of “pills and the powder” over an Indian arrowhead they’d found together. On the bluegrass-steeped title track he pleads with his lover for help, certain she’s the only thing standing between him and hell.