By: The Ballad - 10/15/2022
Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven? is the fifth studio album by American country artist Tyler Childers. It follows his 2020 release, Long Violent History, and was released via Hickman Holler/RCA Records on September 30th, 2022. This new record is an ambitious triple album, involving three different parts: Hallelujah, Jubilee, and Joyful Noise. Part 1, “Hallelujah” is just Childers and The Food Stamps’ studio recording of each song. Part 2, “Jubilee” is more elaborate instrumentally, with the addition of instruments like strings, horns, dulcimer, and sitar, and Part 3 “Joyful Noise” is basically a totally different album all in itself. It really is as the name implies, joyful noise. To put it briefly, it’s essentially just remixed and sampled versions of the original songs. Definitely extremely experimental for the country genre and totally out of left field. Though at the same time, super unique, and only time will tell if people really gravitate towards it.
For the sake of this review we are just going to be covering just the “Hallelujah” version of each song, though we definitely encourage you to go listen to the “Jubilee” and “Joyful Noise” versions so that you can experience the entire album.
1. Old Country Church
A song reminiscing about attending church as a child; the song starts off with and features the iconic Hammond organ, which really emphasizes that country blues feeling you get in old country churches. After each verse and refrain, they have brief solos from most of the band, starting with the guitars after the first refrain, then piano, and organ after the second. This is actually a cover of Hank Williams’s original 1950s song of the same name, and I think it does a good job of breathing some modern life into a traditional gospel country song.
2. Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?
The title track of the album, the lyrics ask the question, whether just in general or maybe to a specific higher power, whether or not the narrator can take his dogs to heaven with him to hunt in the afterlife. Very vocal driven, there isn’t much going on during the verses, mainly just the drums keeping the beat, but then in the choruses it picks up and the whole band comes in. They use what I can only guess is a talk-box on this track, which adds another unique layer that we only hear on a couple other songs. There’s an instrumental break in the middle where it’s featured, but other than that, a pretty chill lyric-driven track.
3. Two Coats
The first of two instrumentals on the album; it has a much more “country” sound to the song. Featuring a guitar and fiddle melody that just repeats until the end, it’d be a perfect song to improvise and jam over live, which I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. There’s a nice swagger to the beat, which gets your head moving, and it just feels really cool to listen to. Definitely could be the theme of a modern western movie.
4. Purgatory
A song talking about how the narrator thinks he’ll be stuck in purgatory for his actions unless a Catholic girl prays for him. It has probably the best, most singable refrain on the entire album; Childers sings it after every verse, and even though it’s short, it’s super effective and catchy. There’s a lot of room on this track for adding more instruments, which they do on the “Jubilee” version. Adding brass and strings provides an extra layer of bigness on top of the “Hallelujah” version. There’s a nice bass and organ solo during the instrumental break, which leads into the bridge, the final verse, and a final outro jam. Super cool, I definitely like this one.
5. Way of the Triune God
Probably the most outright religious song on the album, this track sees the narrator sing about how strong his faith is, and how he’s able to feel the spirit without the use of drugs. It almost has an old Louisiana, ragtime feel to it, featuring a heavier off-beat pulse, and that classic ragtime upright piano style of playing. The electric guitars also get solos, with their traditional twangy/bluesy country sound. The chorus melody is very catchy and includes a lot of different vocal layers from the band. Definitely a fun, singable song.
6. Angel Band
The only single on the album, “Angel Band” was released on September 8th, 2022. Also a very faith-based song, the lyrics discuss people’s earthly notions of the afterlife, and a more nuanced vision of heaven and how the angel band there makes up people of all different faiths. Being the longest song on the album, the accompanying music video uses this to tell a story. It follows the journey of a drunk man who gets kicked in the head by a horse and briefly goes to heaven as people try to save him. He experiences the kindness of all the different people there before he is brought back to life. It’s very large sounding, with lots of different instrumental layers, especially in the Jubilee version. I’m a big fan of it’s use of the Hammond organ, like in “Old Country Church,” to give it that gospel tone.
7. Jubilee
The second instrumental on the album; this is a pretty mellow jam, including some banjo finger picking, and drums to keep the beat, as the fiddle and talk-box slide guitar sort of have melodies. There isn’t really a definite structure, it’s just supposed to kind of be an interlude between “Angel Band” and the very last song.
8. Heart You’ve Been Tendin’
The big finale for the record, this song is much more modern in sound than the rest of the album. The lyrics aren’t that interesting, but the verses and choruses have good vocal melodies. The instrumental arrangements on this song is what really shines on both the Hallelujah and Jubilee versions. Super dense and filled with strings and brass, there is an awesome guitar and strings solo during the instrumental break between the second chorus and third verse. The drum groove is quicker, giving it more energy, and the Hammond organ is providing backing chords basically the whole time along with the electric guitar. Kind of weird to end such a spiritual and generally upbeat album on more of a melancholy note, but I really like the more significant and weighty vibe it gives off.
Conclusion:
A really ambitious and somewhat experimental album from one of the biggest country artists in the scene right now. If feels a lot more authentic and genuine then almost all the modern songs from other big country artists, and you can tell from the subject matter Childers sings about that he really puts himself into his music. I’m still not sure what the point of Part 3, “Joyful Noise” is, but it’s way more different then anything I’ve seen as of late, so I’m definitely not complaining. A solid record and a good way to follow up on the two year break in between this and the last one. I’d recommend it to people that aren’t that into country or bluegrass, because it gets rid of the tropes that turn so many people away from the genre. There's a lot of nuance, and a little something on this album for everyone.
Rating: 7.5/10
Favorite Track: Way of the Triune God (Jubilee Version)
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