Count on Johnny Blue Skies, formerly known as Sturgill Simpson, to walk whatever path he pleases, fences be damned.
He started his career in country music, applying his richly retro voice to uncharted territory in the genre. But before long he was ready to roam even farther, releasing 2019's Sound & Fury — what he termed a “sleazy, steamy rock-and-roll record” — then two volumes of Cuttin’ Grass, for which he assembled some of the best bluegrass pickers on the planet. On 2024’s Passage du Desir (ND review) Simpson debuted his new (stage) name and proclaimed a new musical era, though it felt more or less like a return to his country roots. But for his next project it was already time for another musical vacation.
Mutiny After Midnight is a dance record shot through with sex but also scorching political commentary. In less capable hands, those would make strange bedfellows in an even stranger bed, but Johnny Blue Skies makes it all work.
