Mutiny After Midnight

Sound DNA

• Folk
• Singer-Songwriter

• twangy
• laid-back
• outlaw

About

<b>The second LP from Sturgill Simpson’s alter ego is a radical departure—all synth, bass, and hot guitar riffs.</b> “Wanna start a revolution and watch it begin,” sings Johnny Blue Skies, aka Sturgill Simpson, on <b>“Make America Fuk Again,”</b> the opening track of this rowdy, spontaneous party record. That revolution may not be televised, but it will take place on the dance floor if the contemporary alt-country hero has anything to say about it. The disco ball on the cover is a quite intentional indicator of <i>Mutiny After Midnight</i>’s overall ambiance, which is vintage, funky, and unapologetically good-timing—as Simpson explained, he composed the album alongside his band, The Dark Clouds, in real time, aiming to “hopefully offer some relief from darkness in the world.” Taking a much more literal (and more explicit) approach to the current disco-country vogue is outside of the box for Simpson, who gained his massive following mostly through a sprawling, psychedelic-tinged take on very traditional country sounds. His first release under the Johnny Blue Skies moniker, <i>Passage Du Desir</i>, was not a dramatic departure from that style; <i>Mutiny After Midnight</i>, in contrast, <i>is</i> a radical departure, all synth, bass, and hot guitar riffs. He initially released the album exclusively on vinyl, CD, and cassette; it was pushed to streaming services, though, on Simpson’s 48th birthday with three bonus tracks. All covers, they include William Bell’s soulful <b>“You Don’t Miss Your Water,”</b> a reggae-inflected take on Eddie Murphy’s <b>“Party All the Time,”</b> and Procol Harum’s <b>“A Whiter Shade of Pale”</b>—an unexpected vocal showcase for the singer-songwriter. There’s a subversive through line to <i>Mutiny After Midnight</i>, as the title would suggest. Simpson sings with the tone of someone tired of watching the world burn: “The poor stay poor and the rich get rich/Nothing ever changes, ain’t that a bitch?” as he puts it on <b>“Ain’t That a Bitch.”</b> But all that cynicism turns out shimmering on <i>Mutiny</i>; if it’s discordant, he and his fans are too busy grooving to notice.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits