There’s a lot of enjoyable music on Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth (Atlantic Records), but what’s perhaps most notable is the lack of roots music. That’s not really fair, of course, but Simpson made a big splash with the Saving Country Music crowd as a much-needed successor to Waylon, Willie, and the boys. His last record, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, took pains to confound traditionalist expectations, but still provided plenty of throwback thrills. With this newest release, though, all bets are off, and it’s clear that Simpson’s only going to make the music he wants to hear. You have to wonder if he’s making a statement when the most “traditional” sounding track on the record is a Nirvana cover (“In Bloom”).

In a scant 40 minutes, Simpson reveals nine different places he’s willing to follow his instinct and influences in as many tracks. But most often what bubbles to the surface are strains of Southern rock. “Sea Stories” is straight from The Black Crowes’ playbook; “Brace for Impact (Live a Little)” mixes in a little more Stevie Ray; and “Call to Arms” is a raging, anti-military boogie-woogie blues, like Hank Jr. with a badass horn section. Those horns, The Dap Kings, pop up all over the album. Sometimes they overwhelm the rest of the song (I’d like to hear a more stripped-down version of “Keep It Between the Lines”), but in every case they’re entertaining in their own right.

Most enjoyable are the tracks that really lean in to Sturgill’s love for R&B. In interviews, he’s mentioned Marvin Gaye as a big influence. That never translates directly, but you can hear it in the tender phrasing of his singing on the wistful ballads “Oh Sarah” and “Breakers Roar.” On “Welcome to Earth (Pollywog)” and “All Around You,” though, he finds a sweet spot at the intersection of Charlie Rich and Al Green, where the horns and strings lay it on thick and groovy and Sturgill’s voice is at its richest, full of pain and bravado. This record will not satisfy those who are looking for country music’s savior, but those who are on the Sturgill Simpson bandwagon for the long haul will remember this as one of many surprising and satisfying stops along the way.