Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds- Mutiny After Midnight
Label: Atlantic
Producer: Johnny Blue Skies
Thus far in the twenty-first century, there has arguably been no greater musical chameleon than one, Sturgill Simpson. With a proper solo discography that has canvassed everything from Outlaw country and psychedelia, to soul and hard rock, to traditional country, folk, and bluegrass, the singer-songwriter has thoroughly covered more stylistic ground in a decade’s time than any artist, in any genre, in recent memory. His 2024 reinvention as alter-ego, Johnny Blue Skies expanded this story into new and fascinating territory with a richly resonant project that provided a stirring, bluesy blend of country, rock and soul. Mutiny After Midnight serves as a sequel in the Blue Skies chapter, and while most of the press has centered around its disco inclinations and racy sexual overtones (as well as Simpson’s refusal to release the music digitally), to define the record merely by these two pillars is to assign it a scope much more limited than its reality.
But, yes the record is unapologetically explicit in its sexual nature, and very much sonically tethered to a vintage 70s funk and disco influence. The latter quality is just the latest stylistic exploration in the arc of an artist whose greatness is very much defined by his openness to dabbling and combining American music’s most definitive sounds. True to his iterations of the other genres he’s indulged in, he focuses on the most classic elements of funk and disco. This is not a record influenced by the dance sounds of the 2020s, but rather the primal bliss and ecstasy that those movements elicited during their glory days of the 1970s, filtered through Simpson’s modern creative lens, and blended into the stellar country-rock melting-pot that’s always been at his core. And the glorious guitar work that was such a signature on Passage du Desir is in full force here as well. In fact, Sturgill’s backing band gets marquee billing this round as The Dark Clouds, and they kick undeniable ass throughout Mutiny, demonstrating their own nimble ability to interpret a wide array of soundscapes. Moments like the trippy “Venus”, the swanky “Situation”, and the literally orgasmic “Stay On That” are the album’s very best displays of the band’s full stylistic range and most entertaining arrangements.
Those latter two tracks are where the record truly digs into its greasy funk and dance inclinations, as well as its uninhibited horniness. This sweaty atmosphere unleashes what is the most sensual topical realm of Sturgill’s career, at moments playful and flirty and at others, outright raunchy and hedonistic, with no apology. Lyrically, this produces some of his most clever, comedic, and passionate moments as a writer. It also unveils a handful of moments that, quite honestly, would have been slammed as cringeworthy if they were being spewed from the lips of any number of mainstream, Nashville bro (i.e. “I got that Hunter Biden energy/I’ll make a hooker fuck around and fall in love”…”Let me be the banana and you be that split”…”Just let me be your lollipop/taste that sweet sensation.” So why does Sturgill get a pass, when say someone like Luke Bryan or Jason Aldean wouldn’t? Well, not only because of his past credentials, but also due to the fact that, on the whole, Mr. Blue Skies sings about sex in a far more convincing and entertaining manner than they ever could. And he does so with a clear understanding of the layered and complex role that sex and passion play in the overall life experience. Certainly, there’s a surface-level, celebratory element of sheer passion and pleasure at play. But, it doesn’t stop there, not in confines of these individual songs, and certainly not in the overall emotional range of the entire record.
Sure, opening track “Make America Fuk Again” exists in part simply as a cheeky way to turn MAGA’s catchphrase on its ear. But, behind the track’s funky backbeats, Sturgill’s burly, randy vocals and the song’s lyrical come-ons, the song itself also feels like an anthemic salvo or mission statement for the album itself. It’s suggesting that an all out sexual revolution could help a tattered and divided America reach a point of love and unity once again. It sets the stage for a deeper, socially-tinged core that carries throughout Mutiny. Pure love songs like “Don’t Let Go” and “Viridescent” are poetically rendered and passionately romantic, going far beyond the pleasures of the flesh. And then there are performances like “Excited Delirium” (which references the 2020 George Floyd tragedy and takes a harrowing look at police brutality and misuse of authority) or “Everyone Is Welcome” (which feels bleakly relevant in today’s social and economic climates) that reveal the record’s socially conscious undercurrent, and the undeniably reflective purpose hiding behind all of the sonic bliss.
It all reaches a sizzling fever pitch on the album’s unflinching conclusion, “Ain’t That A Bitch”, a bastion of the record’s multitude of sounds, swagger, and ultimately its politically-charged message. It’s difficult to imagine any other contemporary artist making such a grim indictment of our democracy and society sound so thrillingly anthemic and dance-worthy at the same time. It’s a musical spirit that underscores the dismissive complacency and injustices represented in the song’s chorus (“The poor stay poor and the rich get rich/Nothing ever changes, man ain’t that a bitch”). It’s a message also tethered to the importance of the album’s other core themes– love, sex, and humor–all of the essential ingredients necessary to survive the cultural world we’re all trapped in together.
It’s this juxtaposition of escapism and purposeful call-to-action that is the true heartbeat of Mutiny After Midnight, a vibrant balance of themes, moods, sounds, and emotions that equates to an arousing, incisive, harrowing, and thoroughly entertaining chapter in one of modern music’s most fascinating collections and creative arcs.
Track Listing
- “Make America Fuk Again” (Johnny Blue Skies)
- “Excited Delirium” (Blue Skies)
- “Don’t Let Go” (Blue Skies)
- “Stay On That” (Blue Skies)
- “Viridescent” (Blue Skies)
- “Situation” (Blue Skies)
- “Venus” (Blue Skies)
- “Everyone Is Welcome” (Blue Skies)
- “Ain’t That A Bitch” (Blue Skies)
The 706 
Leave a comment