Snipe Hunter is the seventh studio album by American country musician Tyler Childers, released on July 25, 2025, via Hickman Holler Records and RCA Records. The album was produced by Rick Rubin. The album received widespread critical acclaim upon release.
Contents
Background and recording
Childers began writing Snipe Hunter after the release of his 2023 album Rustin' in the Rain. He recorded the album primarily in Malibu and Hawaii, with producer Rick Rubin encouraging an unstructured, organic creative process.
According to Childers, the album reflects a period of artistic and personal liberation, embracing both reverence for tradition and curiosity for the unknown.
Snipe Hunter was officially announced in May 2025, accompanied by the release of "Nose on the Grindstone".
The album was released on July 25, 2025, via Childers' Hickman Holler Records and RCA Records.
Critical reception
Snipe Hunter received widespread acclaim from critics upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received a weighted average score of 87, based on six reviews, which the website categorized as "universal acclaim".
Holler awarded the album a 9.1 out of 10, calling it "Childers at his most musically adventurous yet still deeply rooted" and praising its balance of "silence and chaos." Caitlin Hall of Holler described the album as "expansive, strange, but unshakably grounded," noting its vulnerable character work and seamless blend of rural imagery and cosmic questions. Fellow Holler reviewer Alli Patton rated it a 9.5/10, calling Snipe Hunter "an unsightly, eviscerating, necessary process," and praised the song "Tirtha Yatra" as "the most magnetic song I've ever heard."
Rolling Stone highlighted the album's inventive range, noting its unexpected detours and its capacity to hold space for both "bootlegger fiddle music" and spiritual chants. Reviewer Daisy Innes drew comparisons to Sturgill Simpson's Sound & Fury and declared Snipe Hunter a strong contender for album of the year. Pitchfork awarded the album a 7.8, celebrating its unpredictability and Rubin's production style.