Tyler Childers - Snipe Hunter

Tyler Childers has never made the same record twice, and Snipe Hunter, his seventh studio album and most expansive work to date, is proof that he has no intention of starting now. Released July 25, 2025 on Hickman Holler Records and RCA, the 13-song collection was produced by Rick Rubin with additional production from Childers himself and Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso, and it received widespread critical acclaim upon release, debuting at number seven on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Americana and Folk Albums chart.

The title draws from a time-honored piece of rural Southern mischief. A snipe hunt is a prank in which older kids lead younger ones deep into the woods to search for a creature that doesn't exist, leaving them alone in the dark once the joke lands. Childers leans into that idea throughout the album, drawing listeners in with something playful or nostalgic before revealing deeper meanings rooted in personal growth, spiritual reckoning, and the weight of success. As GQ described it, Childers made the most visionary country album of the year, one that is first and foremost about what it means to go looking for something that may not be there, and what you find instead.

The 13 tracks move through themes of nature, faith, isolation, addiction, and personal transformation with the closely observed detail and literary craft that has always set Childers apart. Long-awaited fan favorite "Nose on the Grindstone," previously only available as a live session recording, finally gets its definitive studio version, with Childers working his voice into a howl over the ethics instilled by his working-class upbringing. Blues-rock tracks "Eatin' Big Time" and the title track bring an angsty, irresistibly catchy edge, while "Getting to the Bottom" conveys the rawness of addiction with unflinching honesty. "Cutting Teeth" reflects on the early days of The Food Stamps and the long road from small West Virginia shows to sold-out arenas. Rich gospel harmonies and immersive ambient field recordings weave through the album, expanding Childers' sonic palette further than ever before while keeping his Appalachian roots firmly in the soil.

Snipe Hunter firmly establishes Tyler Childers as one of the most versatile, courageous, and genuinely exciting artists in American music today.