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Our only previous insight into Simple Kid’s warped country came in the form of the glorious ‘Truck On’ a 21st century warble and psychedelic mantra, which should have catapulted singer/songwriter Ciaran McFeely into the pop warlord he deservedly should be. Simple Kid 2, is as dishevelled, shambolic, and grimey, yet equally, its graceful, uplifting and as beautiful as its earlier sibling.
Immediate comparisons can be drawn to other such lo-fi experimentalists such as Beck and even those uni bum-boys Gomez, but where these two often touch base and exploit technology in a brash manner, Simple Kids approach is, for want of a better word simple. Choosing to produce most tracks on 8-track analogue home studio infuses an organic comfort, that fuzzy tape hiss on ‘Old Domestic Cat’ is as familiar as it’s subject, and all adds to the DIY sensibility of the album. Where Simple kid excels beyond the mundane is through subtle warping techniques, used to enhance beats and tempo through studio post production, we’re not talking Beta-Band style shiftings, but delicate speed changes and finicky effects most notable on album closer ‘Loves an Enigma II’. Here banjo’s and keys are toyed, until the tune is barely maintained, yet the effect is both interesting and beautiful. There are numerous surprises, ‘Serotonin’ which rebukes the kids muddied aesthetics for a tuned and honed stomper, complete with violins and vocoders, then there’s the 80’s rock thud of ‘Mommy and Dad’, which aptly captures Simple in full Axl Rose mode.
Lyrically Simp, as he likes to call himself, flits between the disarmingly simplistic ‘Self-Help Book’ which contains golden nuggets such as “If you get drunk, you’re gonna fall down” to the profound and epic ‘Serotonin’ which questions the origins of happiness. 'Simple Kid 2' is an awkward and twisted alt/country/pop record, full of passion and laden with fun, but more importantly 'Simple Kid 2' is an effortless masterpiece.
