Beats 1 rarely shows any interest in country music, but Sturgill Simpson made it onto the show this week. The acclaimed singer plans to release his third album, A Sailor's Guide to Earth, this April. Zane Lowe debuted the first single, "Brace For Impact (Live A Little)."
In a press release, Simpson explained that the album was inspired by "guilt and homesickness" from all his time touring. "I had to figure out a way to put that into music," he noted. "I decided to write the whole record from the perspective of a sailor going to sea and not knowing if he's ever coming home. I remembered an old letter that I read, written by my Grandfather Ora to my grandmother when he was in the Army. He was in the South Pacific during World War II, and he thought he was going to die. So he wrote a goodbye letter to her and their newborn son. He finally made it home five years later."
Simpson also suggested that A Sailor's Guide to Earth will be a concept album that aims for the sonic cohesion of his favorite Marvin Gaye albums. Though the singer has often worked with Dave Cobb in the past, he apparently produced the new record by himself.
Look for A Sailor's Guide to Earth April 15, and check out the tracklist below.
A Sailor's Guide to Earth:
01. Welcome to Earth (Pollywog)
02. Breakers Roar
03. Keep It Between the Lines
04. Sea Stories
05. In Bloom
06. Brace for Impact (Live a Little)
07. All Around You
08. Oh Sarah
09. Call to Arms
