Monday, September 04, 2006

Another Side of Simple Minds

While most would instantly recognise Simple Minds stadium anthems like "Alive and Kicking", "Waterfront" and the inescapable "Don't You Forget About Me", there is another side to the veteran Scottish outfit that casual fans might not be familiar with.

This is a Simple Minds that purveys a restlessly experimental, electronica-influenced art-rock form that is a far cry from the lighters-aloft singalongs of the mid to late 1980s. Here are some prime examples of this atmospheric, evocative synthesised sound:

I TRAVEL (1980)
Processed, assaultive guitars flail around hyper-kinetic electronic pulses, underscored by Jim Kerr's uncharacteristic frenzied yelping. Death disco at its most paranoid and martial.

LOVE SONG (1981)
A sturdy electro-bass undertow anchors some random guitar bursts and glittering synth flourishes. The band's accessible take on Kraut-rock.

THE AMERICAN (1981)
Boldly aggressive and arrogantly assured, this early-era hit is marked by ringing, angular guitar riffs and bristling proto-industrial rhythms.

GLITTERBALL (1998)
An icy, elegantly frosty tone poem that brilliantly updates the band's nascent electronica-informed blueprint. Charlie Burchill's middle-eight guitar break is as stately as they come.

STAY VISIBLE (2005)
Resonant guitar chimes stride forward confidently with a burbling synth-bass foundation, backing up Kerr's most revved-up vocal performance in years.

1 Comments:

Blogger sashi said...

Glitterball? Isn't that the song by Mariah Carey?

:P

5:20 PM  

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