Purgatory (Tyler Childers album)

Last updated
Purgatory
Tyler Childers - Purgatory.png
Studio album by
Tyler Childers
ReleasedAugust 4, 2017 (2017-08-04)
Studio Butcher Shoppe (Nashville, Tennessee) [1]
Genre
Length37:41
Label Hickman Holler Records
Producer
Tyler Childers chronology
Bottles and Bibles
(2011)		Purgatory
(2017)		 Country Squire
(2019)
Singles from Purgatory
  1. "Lady May"
    Released: June 9, 2017
  2. "Whitehouse Road"
    Released: June 23, 2017
  3. "Universal Sound"
    Released: July 7, 2017

Purgatory is the second studio album by American country music singer Tyler Childers. It was released in August 2017 under Childers' independent label Hickman Holler Records. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA.

Contents

Musical style and composition

Purgatory has been described as a country, [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] bluegrass, [8] [4] [9] [10] honky-tonk, [8] [11] [12] Appalachian, [13] Americana, [14] and folk [8] album, with its Appalachian storytelling compared to albums such as Steve Earle's Copperhead Road , Sturgill Simpson's Metamodern Sounds in Country Music , and Patty Loveless' Mountain Soul ., [6] [15]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 82/100 [16]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
American Songwriter Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [18]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]

The album has received a Metacritic rating of 82 based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [16]

The album has sold 638,178 copies, both CD and streamable, in the United States as of December 2020. [19]

Accolades

PublicationAccoladeRankRef.
Noisey Top 100 Albums of 2017
75
NPR Music Top 50 Albums of 2017
39
Rolling Stone Top 40 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2017
14
[7]

Album cover artwork

The album cover artwork, drawn by an artist local to Kentucky, references the geographic outline of Lawrence County, Kentucky, Childers' birthplace. [8]

Additionally, the coloration and shape are reminiscent of Kentucky agate, a type of agate found in Estill, Jackson, Powell, Madison, and Rockcastle counties in Kentucky that has distinctive red, black, yellow, and gray bands due to its derivation from the Mississippian Borden Formation. [20]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."I Swear (To God)"3:20
2."Feathered Indians"3:45
3."Tattoos"3:23
4."Born Again"3:28
5."Whitehouse Road"4:41
6."Banded Clovis"4:19
7."Purgatory"2:46
8."Honky Tonk Flame"4:57
9."Universal Sound"3:42
10."Lady May"3:04

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [43] Platinum1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Usage in film

Multiple songs from Tyler Childers' Purgatory have been used in movies and television shows. In the hit series, Yellowstone, "Lady May" is featured in season 3 episode 2. [44]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Wickstrom, Matt (June 29, 2017). "Estill County's Tyler Childers gets Sturgill Simpson's help on new album". Kentucky.com . Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  2. ↑ Sawyer, Bobbie Jean. "Tyler Childers' 'Purgatory' is One of the Most Authentic and Original Albums of 2017". wideopencountry.com. Wide Open Country. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Album Review – "Purgatory" by Tyler Childers". Saving Country Music. August 4, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Carty, Pat (August 21, 2017). "Album Review: Purgatory, Tyler Childers". HotPress. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  5. ↑ Sawyer, Bobbie Jean (August 4, 2017). "Tyler Childers' 'Purgatory' is One of the Most Authentic and Original Albums of 2017". Wide Open Country. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Keefe, Johnathan (December 22, 2024). "Twenty Greatest Albums of the CU Era: Tyler Childers, Purgatory". Country Universe. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Freeman, Jon; Hodge, Will (December 7, 2017). "40 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2017". Rolling Stone . Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Bernstein, Johnathan (July 6, 2017). "Tyler Childers Is Making Hometown Folk Songs in Tune with the Universe". Vice.com. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Horowitz, Hal. "Tyler Childers: Purgatory". American Songwriter . Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  10. 1 2 Gill, Andy (January 4, 2018). "Album reviews: Peter Blegvad – Go Figure, Tyler Childers – Purgatory, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly – Young Adult". The Independent . Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Mother Church Pew". Mother Church Pew. August 3, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  12. ↑ Deusner, Stephen (August 5, 2019). "Tyler Childers - Country Squire - Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved January 20, 2025. Country Squire doesn't stray too far from the modified honky-tonk sound (or the butt-ugly cover art) of Purgatory.
  13. 1 2 "The 100 Best Albums of 2017". Noisey.vice.com. December 6, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  14. 1 2 "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". NPR. December 12, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  15. ↑ Powers, Ann (July 27, 2017). "Review: Tyler Childers, 'Purgatory'". NPR . Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Purgatory". Metacritic . Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  17. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic . Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  18. ↑ Staunton, Terry (January 4, 2018). "Purgatory". Record Collector . Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  19. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (October 9, 2019). "Top Country Catalog Album Sales: October 9, 2019". RoughStock. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Kentucky Official State Rock is Agate, Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky". www.uky.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  21. ↑ "Tyler Childers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Tyler Childers Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Tyler Childers Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Tyler Childers Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Tyler Childers Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Americana/Folk Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Americana/Folk Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Americana/Folk Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard . Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Americana/Folk Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  37. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard . Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  38. ↑ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard . Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard . Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  40. ↑ "Americana/Folk Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2024". Billboard . Retrieved December 31, 2024.
  42. ↑ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2024". Billboard . Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  43. ↑ "American album certifications – Tyler Childers – Purgatory". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  44. ↑ "We've Got the Complete 'Yellowstone' Soundtrack and It's Awesome". Country Living. 2023-01-04. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
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