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Sep 26, 2019He isn’t the first musician to throw his label a curveball while protesting about the pressures of fame and the grim nature of the music business. That said, it’s hard to think of anyone else who’s done it by making an album as gripping and enjoyable as this.
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Sep 30, 2019Listeners should strap in and brace themselves for some stylistic hairpin turns. Thankfully Simpson is at the wheel, his Teflon tough voice, high torque guitar playing, and vivid lyrics steadying this thrilling journey through a world on the brink, and ensuring the wheels never come off, which would surely happen with a lesser artist in the driver's seat.
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Sep 27, 2019Distortion-saturated guitars, synthesizers squealing like tea kettles and tribal drums give country tradition a swift kick in the back side. This carnage doesn’t belong to a genre, it’s more like a feeling: Side 2 of Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s “Rust Never Sleeps,” ZZ Top demos after three cases of Tequila in a Texas roadhouse, a hurricane.
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Sep 30, 2019None of this is as nuanced or beautiful as Sailor’s Guide, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s a momentary pardon from the insanity of daily life. That’s as good of a reason as any to get down and dirty with Sound & Fury – Simpson’s most straightforwardly enjoyable offering to date.
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MojoSep 26, 2019The album's schizoid ruse is neatly summed-up by Make Art Not Friends, which makes its wondrous metamorphosis from lithe dance track to all-American rocker in just under six minutes. [Nov 2019, p.86]
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UncutSep 26, 2019The fizzy psych-funk of "A Good Luck" and "Sing Along" ramp up the atmosphere in grand style, matched by Simpson's fabulous baritone, through best of all is the monstrous "Fastest Horse In Town." [Nov 2019, p.30]
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Q MagazineSep 26, 2019This is the sound of a man doing exactly what he wants, rather than what everyone expects and it's totally compelling. [Nov 2019, p.115]
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Sep 26, 2019It’s pure rock and roll: sleazy, slick and lots of fun. Sound & Fury marks another milestone for a remarkable artist.
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Oct 1, 2019SOUND & FURY is miles down the road from any of his previous albums.
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Oct 9, 2019The album's highlights are marked with push the envelope creativity and a passionate delivery, but the endless industry bashing wears a bit thin. But if you focus on hearing the music instead of listening to all the grousing Sound & Fury is a bracing ride.
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Oct 3, 2019The tightest tunes here tend to be the mid-tempo ones, or the ones with the cleanest production.
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Sep 26, 2019It’s an understatement to say the album’s audacious tone and approach will take some getting used to for Americana fans. But those with open minds and an affinity for ’80s sounds should warm up to this unanticipated, intense but generally enticing music.
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Sep 26, 2019When Simpson does sing, much of what he has to say is similarly self-referential. He’s angstier than ever on Sound and Fury, plagued by his public platform, preoccupied with the way he’s been misunderstood and boxed in by an unforgiving music industry. Simpson sells such discontent with a fury that makes it seem as though he’s the first rockstar who’s ever had to deal with such problems.
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Sep 26, 2019On its own, the album is loud, sometimes cranky and also the least essential entry in Simpson’s catalog so far.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 44 out of 48
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Mixed: 0 out of 48
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Negative: 4 out of 48
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Sep 27, 2019
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Sep 27, 2019Wow, that Paste review is awful. This record kills. Between Raphael Saadiq and this one, 2019 has suddenly become a year for classic albums
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Sep 27, 2019This album shreds. It's a big fuzzy wall of sound full of great licks and great lyrics. Another masterpiece from Sturgill.