Consequence’s Songs of the Week column takes a look at great new tunes and analyzes notable releases. Find our new favorites and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for other great songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, we bask in the sweet sounds of Sturgill Simpson Johnny Blue Skies.
New and Notable:
Blue Skies Poke Through Melancholy on Sturgill Simpson’s “Jupiter’s Faerie”
Sturgill Simpson is back with a new name — Johnny Blue Skies — and a new set of gorgeously written outlaw country tunes. As explained by Consequence’s own Mary Siroky, Passage Du Desir is, as a whole, a wonderfully natural extension of Simpson’s idiosyncratic honky tonk world, and its seven-and-a-half-minute centerpiece, “Jupiter’s Faerie,” is one of his grandest statements yet.
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The track embodies the dichotomy central to Passage Du Desir: the interplay between despair and hope. Kicking off with a mournful electric piano and a vocal melody you could almost imagine Paul Simon singing, Simpson keeps the verses soft and contemplative. Winds of ambiance meet sparse instrumentation as he sings of a lost love now passed.
When the chorus kicks in, it’s as if the dark clouds have briefly parted to allow a small glimmer of light to shine through, offering warmth and clarity. With an orchestral backing, guitars rush in as Simpson sings a soaring melody with his whole chest. Then, just as quickly as it came, it once again drifts away and the melancholy returns.
It’s a beautifully constructed odyssey, one that’s as sonically compelling as it is emotionally potent. Even when times are dark, Johnny Blue Skies lives up to his name and offers some light via a comforting tune. — Jonah Krueger
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Momma always said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” So I won’t… but Mary will.