We’ve had the weekend to marinate with the new Tyler Childers record, Snipe Hunter, so…. how we feeling?
The online chatter has been mixed at best, but overall, pretty negative if we’re being honest. And sure, much like the kind of people who leave Yelp reviews, I’d venture to guess that those who are loving the album have less desire to jump on social media and let everybody know. The people still holding out for Purgatory Part 2, well… they seem to be pretty vocal in their disappointment.
For me personally, I think it’ll continue to grow on me with more listens but my first impression was that it is pretty enjoyable. I’m in the group of people who found the last few projects to be a little thin so this feels like Tyler’s first true studio album since 2019’s Country Squire. Long Violent History was mostly instrumental fiddle tunes; Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven featured a few covers, a few he’d been playing live for a while, and another version of “Purgatory; and Rustin’ In The Rain also featured a couple covers and a few song he had been playing live for quite some time. Short and full of songs we’ve heard before, it just kind of felt like a bit of a letdown.
Snipe Hunter, on the other hand, gave fans a few old favorites with “Nose On The Grindstone,” “Oneida,” and the title track, but was largely a new body of work, and one with some decent length to it. Granted, does it sound a bit different than we we’re used to from Tyler and the Food Stamps? Sure… and while I was a big fan of the Rick Rubin idea, I’m not so sure it gave us the best sounding Tyler Childers. But overall, I found it to be a fun album where Tyler showcases some of that signature humor, maybe even a little too much. We probably could’ve done without “Down Under,” the song about k0alas and kangaroos, but I actually didn’t hate the ’80s early punk vibes of it. Another one a lot of people hated was “Cuttin’ Teeth,” but I really enjoy it.”Bitin’ List,” is hilarious and a JAM; “Watch Out” is another one I liked as a father of two young kids.
I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this silly air of political division that seems to have infected Tyler Childers fandom. Conservatives have written him off as “too woke” and liked him “better when he was on drugs,” meanwhile those on the left have branded him their new savior. Hell, even the GQ puff piece from Friday called it the “most visionary country album of the year” in the title, and then made sure to mention his “Black Lives Matter anthem,” his “gay love story in a music video” and his “pilgrimage to India” in the subtitle, when the album largely has nothing to do with anything political or spiritual. Minus “The Tirtha Yatra,” the song about Tyler’s spiritual pilgrimage to India, the album is actually kind of silly in many ways. Which isn’t a bad thing, but I’m not getting the “visionary” part of it. And Tyler doesn’t really make any spiritual declarations of truth, but rather, the message feels more like “Hey, I read through some Hindu scripture and made a trip to India… don’t be afraid to take a spiritual journey.” Which is all well and good… we can save the conversation about “buffet spirituality” for another day.
My point is, I’m a pretty conservative dude. I voted for Donald Trump and won’t apologize for it, I tend to fall in line with conservative values, and I’m also a Bible-believing Christian who found Tyler’s Gospel project to be pretty cool. And from my vantage point, Tyler seems like humble dude, who moves through the world with a genuine compassion for his fellow man, regardless of their circumstance. There’s no virtue signaling, he’s not lecturing his fans about his own self-defined version of morality, none of that self-righteous smugness that you get from people like Jason Isbell… I just get the sense that the Appalachian, fire and brimstone, Baptist church may have left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he is trying to find a path that leads to a greater compassion for humanity. I’d argue the Gospel is ultimate form of compassion for humanity, but like I said, a conversation for another time…
But the thing is… caring about people isn’t a bad thing, being grieved by the state of society isn’t a bad thing, wanting better lives for people, from all walks of life, isn’t a bad thing, and lately it seems real easy to confuse compassion for some kind of toxic wokeness. So Tyler would rather not say the word “Indian” as to not offend anyone who might be offended by it? Big deal. Whether his reasoning is stupid or not, and whether most Native Americans think it’s stupid or not (I saw a number of Native Americans on social media claim they love the song), Tyler feels bad singing it and would rather err on the side of not offending anybody. Bummer, but fair enough.
And don’t get me wrong, the “woke mind virus” is still plaguing society in many ways, and in some areas, should be absolutely stood against (things like “defund the police,” gender-“affirming” care for 8-year-olds), but if you’re refusing to listen to this album because “Tyler is woke,” or you think it sucks because “Tyler went woke,” I think you’re just missing out… there’s much bigger fish to fry than whether or not Tyler Childers is willing to perform “Feathered Indians.”
Ok, everyone take a deep breath… we’re getting to the good stuff. I just had some stuff to get off my chest.
The actual point of this blog, which was not to get too deep into Tyler’s new album, or perceived political/spiritual leanings, is that Tyler took the stage this past weekend in Wisconsin, and naturally broke out a brand new song from the record. The new album’s first track, “Eatin’ Big Time,” made its live show debut at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin, which is actually only about 40 minutes from where I live in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend…
Nevertheless, fans were on hand, with cellphones in hand, to capture the magic. And Tyler was FEELIN’ himself, in the best possible way. I’m actually surprised Tyler only chose to debut one new one from the album, but Timmy Tyler and the boys BROUGHT it.
Check it out:
@boardgames_boardingpass Tyler Childers concert debut of Eatin’ Big Time. He starts the song walking around holding the mic which I’ve never seen him do…I think he was nervous, but he still killed it! #tylerchilders #eatinbigtime #snipehunting #concert #music @Tyler Childers ♬ original sound – boardgames_boardingpass
And the new music video for your viewing pleasure:
