Here’s a country curveball – country hero Sturgill Simpson is gearing up to release a new album next month, and A Sailor’s Guide To Earth contains one particular oddity: a cover of Nirvana’s 1991 classic “In Bloom.”
Listen below to Simpson’s take, a soulful, airy love-spin on the dry-wit sarcasm of Kurt Cobain’s original composition. Watch out for those horns as well.
“I remember in seventh or eighth grade, when [Nevermind] dropped, it was like a bomb went off in my bedroom,” Simpsons said in a statement. “For me, that song has always summed up what it means to be a teenager, and I think it tells a young boy that he can be sensitive and compassionate — he doesn’t have to be tough or cold to be a man. So I wanted to make a very beautiful and pure homage to Kurt.”
Matt Mahurin directed the video for the track, while A Sailor’s Guide to Earth drops on April 15 via Atlantic.