The second LP from Sturgill Simpson’s alter ego is a radical departure—all synth, bass, and hot guitar riffs. “Wanna start a revolution and watch it begin,” sings Johnny Blue Skies, aka Sturgill Simpson, on “Make America Fuk Again,” 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 Mutiny After Midnight’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, Passage Du Desir, was not a dramatic departure from that style; Mutiny After Midnight, in contrast, is 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 “You Don’t Miss Your Water,” a reggae-inflected take on Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time,” and Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale”—an unexpected vocal showcase for the singer-songwriter. There’s a subversive through line to Mutiny After Midnight, 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 “Ain’t That a Bitch.” But all that cynicism turns out shimmering on Mutiny; if it’s discordant, he and his fans are too busy grooving to notice.