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Simple Songs
by
Simple Songs Image
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 14 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 28 Ratings

  • Summary: This is the first solo release for the experimental artist since 2009's The Visitor.
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Top Track

Half Life Crisis
I know you think the sun is shining And I hate to let you down, so I just abuse what you had Cause you don't wanna admit You're not a star once... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Magnet
    Jun 8, 2015
    90
    The whole thing is ghoulishly gorgeous in the most comfortably comfortable way. [No. 121, p.60]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. The New York Times
    May 18, 2015
    80
    It sounds fantastic as a study in symphonic-rock ambition and studio mixing techniques.
  5. Dusted Magazine
    May 21, 2015
    80
    A chilly, deliberately off-putting, but deeply fascinating record.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. jervo
    Mar 28, 2017
    10
    This is an album in which you get constantly disoriented by overflowin' rhythmics, puzzling melodies and vintage atmospheres that brought meThis is an album in which you get constantly disoriented by overflowin' rhythmics, puzzling melodies and vintage atmospheres that brought me back to some of first Pink Floyd's masterpieces. Further more there's an essence of constant music research. This album is made of landscapes you travel throughout losing the sense of time and space.… Expand
  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.… Expand
  4. 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.… Expand
  5. 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.

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Best Album of 2015

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