Passage du Desir is the debut from Johnny Blue Skies, the alter ego Sturgill Simpson adopted for his first album of new songs in years. After a run of bluegrass records and the rock detour of Sound & Fury, he steers back toward the cosmic country that first made him a Nashville outsider. The songs wrestle with heartache, regret and the urge to escape, sung softer and more vulnerable than before and often wrapped in dreamy, echoing production. Eight tracks, from Swamp of Sadness to One for the Road, on High Top Mountain. Start here, then follow the story into Mutiny After Midnight.