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.