Coming off the heels of a successful tour for the album “Passage Du Desir,” Johnny Blue Skies, also known as Sturgill Simpson, declared his next endeavor to a packed audience: “I just wanna make America f*** again!”
On March 13, 2026, Simpson released his second studio album, “Mutiny After Midnight,” under the same pseudonym. The new album encourages listeners to take to the dance floor and bedroom in defiance, jubilantly rebelling against oppression.
Simpson, who sings and plays rhythm guitar, is backed by his band, aptly named “The Dark Clouds,” featuring lead guitarist Laur Joamets, bassist Kevin Black, keyboardist and saxophonist Robbie Crowell and drummer Miles Miller.
Forgoing traditional streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music in favor of physical media, listeners could choose among cassette, vinyl record and CD formats. For this review, “Mutiny After Midnight” was blasted through the CD player of an old Honda on a road trip.
As an unexpected child of political turmoil and the declining rates of lovemaking, “Mutiny After Midnight” continues Simpson’s genre-bending tradition. The album blends its country-style, twangy rhythm and screaming slide guitar with an unrelenting disco groove of the bass and drums that makes even those with two left feet want to dance. Complemented by jazzy saxophone and unfiltered lyrics, the album leaves little time for listeners to catch their breath.
In a letter released alongside the album, Simpson embraced the idea of writing protest music in the form of a dance record.
“Light lives in darkness just as darkness lives in light,” Simpson wrote. “Everything won’t be for everyone, but everything tends to eventually find everyone it was meant for.”
As a disco-country-funk fusion, much of the album is undeniably horny. Yet, many references to intimacy are so absurd and amusing that it seems unfair to lump songs in with the larger body of modern music that explore sensuality. Simpson mentions sweaty infatuations, orgies and delivers lines such as, “Your body’s hotter than a brothel in Guam,” on the unforgettable track, “Situation.”
Some lyrics are so head-scratching that they border on being cringeworthy, but these lyrical quirks are bolstered by one of the tightest bands in modern music, making the album impossible to scoff at.
Despite some dorky lyrics, Simpson does not bite his tongue with references to hot topics, like the 2020 killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis or ongoing raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In songs like “Ain’t That a B****,” Simpson makes clear his criticism of current politics, singing, “If you want to seize control of a nation / Stack up the courts to serve your salvation,” later referencing “babies in cages” and ultimately questioning, “How the hell are all these guys not in jail for treason?”
Based on sex, love and protest, “Mutiny After Midnight” is an album of record, documenting the tumultuous times in which it was written. The album may feel like a night spent dancing in an excited delirium at a disco club or maybe like listening to the muffled music from outside, having a smoke with a group of new friends.
“Mutiny After Midnight” plays no games and is out for vengeance. Exploring resistance through the form of joy, liberation and dance, it is a must-listen, especially for those who are new to the music of Johnny Blue Skies and The Dark Clouds.
