Since the days of the wayfaring bards, the touring life has largely been coded male. But not all itinerants enjoy artificial irresponsibility. Breakout country star Sturgill Simpson’s third album is not all about the conflicts of a male life in motion, but much of it deals with the pull of home, long experienced by sailors, soldiers and musicians. Pushing the boundaries of country even more than his last, faintly psychedelic album, Simpson has stuffed this involving song cycle with the sounds of Motown, Memphis soul and an arresting cover of Nirvana’s In Bloom. Not all of it gels, but as a treatise on male absence, Sturgill’s Guide is heartfelt.
