Artist: Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds

Title: Mutiny After Midnight (High Top Mountain Records/Atlantic Music Group)

You might like if you enjoy: Sturgill Simpson

Tell me more: Following up the release of Johnny Blue Skies' 2024 debut Passage Du Desir, singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson (aka Johnny Blue Skies) and The Dark Clouds are back with the sophomore followup Mutiny After Midnight. The dance-minded disc is filled with left-leaning political-minded originals that simultaneously are aimed at getting everyone out on the dance floor. The rousing opener "Make America Fuk Again," rapid-fire rock-styled "Excited Delirium," Americana-rooted "Don't Let Go" (the latter featuring nuanced sax playing from Raw B), funky "Stay On That" and "Ain't That A Bitch," and country-tinged "Viridescent" all explode out of the speakers.

As impressive as Simpson was when he was selected to perform at both the Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals the same year (in 2015; read my review his performance at Coachellafest that year HERE), it's amazing to see just how successful the Jackson, Kentucky native has been at excelling in fusing a number of diverse genres and making them into something all together new — and his own.

The nine-track Mutiny After Midnight is available on vinyl, as well as via audio CD and on cassette. Johnny Blue Skies is embarking on a tour of North America this summer, and performs at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ on Sept. 8, 2026. Information: sturgillsimpson.com.