Simple Songs
by Jim O'Rourke
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
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  1. Magnet
    Jun 8, 2015
    90
    The whole thing is ghoulishly gorgeous in the most comfortably comfortable way. [No. 121, p.60]
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  2. Tiny Mix Tapes
    May 18, 2015
    90
    Simple Songs works as an antidote for clutching at straws by adding a layer of depth to an otherwise indiscernible character; it offers insight into the workings of a prodigious mind, and it comes off sounding triumphant.
  3. The Line of Best Fit
    May 15, 2015
    90
    Much like Black Messiah, a slightly more heralded return of another long-absent polymath, it rewards repeated listens, even if they’ll barely bring you closer to actually understanding it.
  5. Pitchfork
    May 15, 2015
    86
    He has his handful of obsessions, his rules, his limitations, and once in a while he returns and gives us a record like this, something that will be sounding good five or 10 or 15 years from now, or whenever the next solo record comes along.
  6. The Wire
    Jun 5, 2015
    80
    The album's so-called simple songs might be ambiguous enough to leave you wondering what they're about, even as you're thinking that they were written just for you. [Jun 2015, p.49]
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  7. Uncut
    May 28, 2015
    80
    Simple Songs is a major statement from a brilliant, mischievous singer-songwriter. [Jul 2015, p.80]
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  8. Record Collector
    May 26, 2015
    80
    In a way, Simple Songs picks up where Insignificance left us: a smooth, heavily layered and structured approach to the craft (betraying the album title) underpinned with some of the most biting, surreal and often hilarious lyrics indie rock currently offers.
  9. Dusted Magazine
    May 21, 2015
    80
    A chilly, deliberately off-putting, but deeply fascinating record.
  10. Paste Magazine
    May 19, 2015
    80
    While these eight new tunes are more straightforward than much of his work, that is not to suggest they are lacking in intricacy.
  11. The New York Times
    May 18, 2015
    80
    It sounds fantastic as a study in symphonic-rock ambition and studio mixing techniques.
  12. Exclaim
    May 15, 2015
    80
    The songs are lushly dense and about as challenging and exhilarating as pop can be.
  13. The Quietus
    May 15, 2015
    80
    Simple Songs is the most emotionally direct of O'Rourke's pop-oriented releases for Drag City, and the least likely to distance the listener with a cruel joke or winking musical allusion.
  14. Consequence
    May 15, 2015
    75
    Tonally, they hit the same nail on the head more than a few times, but each strike lands true and strong.
  15. American Songwriter
    Jun 25, 2015
    70
    Neither easy listening or abrasive, Simple Songs is the sound of O’Rourke spraying his idiosyncratic fairy dust over a genre he clearly appreciates, albeit through the lenses of his own somewhat eccentric vision. Once you get into his groove though, it’s easy to appreciate the artist’s tenacity and often volatile vision.

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Best Album of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 28
  3. Negative: 2 out of 28
  1. itsprobablyali
    Jul 21, 2015
    10
    True to the avant-garde style of his music, Jim O'Rourke proves that he has the potential to return from the silence and still bring out aTrue to the avant-garde style of his music, Jim O'Rourke proves that he has the potential to return from the silence and still bring out a masterpiece. In the form of an all new eight piece rendition, this could quite possibly be one of his, if not the greatest of his creations to date.… Full Review »
  2. MikeHixx
    Jun 4, 2015
    10
    A simply gorgeous statement, full of complex arrangements and immediate hooks that references early 1970s Bowie and Nilsson. Truly a completeA simply gorgeous statement, full of complex arrangements and immediate hooks that references early 1970s Bowie and Nilsson. Truly a complete statement, and one that be hovering around my turntable for quite some time.… Full Review »
  3. jens76
    Jan 25, 2023
    9
    Lang nicht mehr daheim, kommt wieder Reim. (Careful, they don't care.) Jim O'Rourke von seiner besten Seite, die Fans und die Jugendlichen lieben ihn.
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