SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
If you have ever felt the need to reinvent yourself, there's a lot of ways to do it. It could be something simple, like a new wardrobe or a new haircut, or maybe something more drastic, like changing your name.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "VIRIDESCENCE")
JOHNNY BLUE SKIES AND THE DARK CLOUDS: (Singing) I'm not the kind of guy to kiss and tell. Hell would be this world without you. I'm just...
DETROW: Two years ago, country singer/songwriter Sturgill Simpson left that name behind, at least on stage. He and his band have since been releasing music under a new name, Johnny Blue Skies And The Dark Clouds. The band's second album, "Mutiny After Midnight," is out today. Here to talk about it for this week's New Music Friday segment is Amelia Mason from WBUR in Boston. Welcome.
AMELIA MASON, BYLINE: Hello.
DETROW: What a collection of great names here that we're...
MASON: Yeah.
DETROW: ...Talking about.
(LAUGHTER)
DETROW: Let's - Johnny Blue Skies, formerly Sturgill Simpson, started using that new stage name a couple of years back. Fill us in on the backstory.
MASON: Sure. So Sturgill Simpson was a very successful - still is a very successful artist in country music. He's got all these Grammy nominations. He even won a Grammy for best country record in 2017. But I think it's fair to say he never got fully comfortable with fame and, you know, all that came along with success. He actually told GQ a couple years ago that he felt he started to lose ownership of his name. Like, it became a commodity. And I think that discomfort with the commodification of his music is still true today, and that's demonstrated in the unconventional way he's releasing this new album.
DETROW: There are so many different options for releasing an album unconventionally. Which one is he going with?
MASON: Well, he's going with don't put it online, which is - yeah. That's not...
DETROW: That's bold.
MASON: That's, like, kind of the one thing you're supposed to do. But he's not releasing it digitally. So he wants people to buy physical copies, like a record or a CD, which is an option. And, you know, he wants people to sit down with it, all jokes aside, and really, you know, consider the music. And I do think this album warrants that kind of attention.
DETROW: Tell me more about that. What stands out to you?
MASON: He's just a really skillful songwriter, and I think his country background helps with this. He has a real mastery of craft and structure and, you know, poetry and using metaphors in a way that's very thoughtful. This album is also quite political. You could call some of the songs protest songs. They are that sort of pointed.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "AIN'T THAT A B****")
JOHNNY BLUE SKIES AND THE DARK CLOUDS: (Singing) If you want to seize control of a nation, stack up the courts to serve your salvation. Takе the constitution, systematically dismantle it. Rеbuild your...
MASON: But at the same time, I would say that he's not, like, preachy, and he's not didactic. He has this way of being very straightforward in his opinion but very original in his phrasing. It can be surprising and complex.
DETROW: Is there any one song that jumps out to you on that point?
MASON: Well, there are a few political songs with names I can't say on the radio, so I'll choose "Excited Delirium."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EXCITED DELIRIUM")
JOHNNY BLUE SKIES AND THE DARK CLOUDS: (Singing) Call it excited delirium. Call it whatever you need. Somebody help. Somebody do something. Somebody call my mama 'cause I can't breathe.
MASON: It expresses a critique of police brutality. The title is actually a reference to a controversial diagnosis that's been used in the past by some as a justification for the excessive use of force.
DETROW: You know, I'm curious. I don't want to put things overly into buckets that don't need to fit in buckets, but I feel like this comes up a lot with country music. Like, would you consider this a straight country album or something a little different?
MASON: Oh, definitely not a straight country album. And I think it's actually fun to talk about this album in terms of buckets because it's really interesting to hear what he's pulling from. You can still hear the country twang, I think especially in the way he sings, but it's very funk influenced. It makes me think of, like, Marvin Gaye or something at certain points in that political thing and also the, you know, love songs.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "VENUS")
JOHNNY BLUE SKIES AND THE DARK CLOUDS: (Singing) Want to hear you say that you love me. Venus, love, goddess, creation. I love you too.
MASON: But, I mean, sonically speaking - funk, you got a psychedelic thing going on, soul, Americana, rock - like, it's really all over the place.
DETROW: Is there one song that's kind of stuck with you?
MASON: I mean, there are a couple. When I mentioned earlier that he has some love songs on this album, "Don't Let Go" is one I find really beautiful. It's an ode to longevity and relationships and, like, recommitting, even through hard times. It has this line - for a while, felt like we were dying. Now we're starting to bloom.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T LET GO")
JOHNNY BLUE SKIES AND THE DARK CLOUDS: (Singing) For a while it felt like we were dying. Now we're starting to bloom. I keep trying to tell you, you've got a hold on me.
DETROW: Johnny Blue Skies And The Dark Clouds' new album is out today. You can hear about more great new music from WBUR's Amelia Mason on today's New Music Friday podcast from NPR Music. Amelia, thank you so much.
MASON: It's a pleasure to be here.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T LET GO")
JOHNNY BLUE SKIES AND THE DARK CLOUDS: (Singing) So baby, hold on. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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