Citizens Awake

An Ian Simpson record. His gentle charasmatic voice set over minimalist folk pop. I reviewed it nearly 18 years ago. The blink of an eye. And everything changes. Again and again. Different times now. Like my 5th life. They say a cat gets nine. A middle aged man wondering round Moscow with a camera. A voyeur. With but a few friends and little legacy, but good ones nonetheless. And I am settled in my sixth decade. How did that happen? And, are we awake? We citizens. We prisoners of our greater ideology. Or do we sleep in our fear. Perhaps I should go and throw molotov cocktails at random figures of authority. For surely silence is complicity. Give me a cause. Give me a cause!

Moscow July 2020.
CineStill 50D / Voigtlander Bessa R2S / Nikon Nikkor P.C 8.5cm f/2

Ian Simpson – Montague’s Lunchtime Special

Ian Simpson – Montague’s Lunchtime Special

www.myspace.com/thefamilysimpson

What’s this? Unashamedly simple programmed beats, accoustic guitar chops and riffs, quirky production touches, twistedly delicious lyrics, odd samples you don’t hear anywhere else and natural sounding unpretentious up front vocal stylings? Has it really been over two years since the last Ian Simpson release. And about time too!

Montague’s Lunchtime Special is a fine, fine offering. Compared to the previous albums it’s got a lot more drive and warmth to it. It’s fuller and somehow richer, yet still firmly and delightfully lo fi. It seems as if Ian’s managed to exorcise the very worst of his demons. The cold barren feel of the previous albums has gone. This feels altogether more mellow and smoother. There’s some cracking core songs in here with Music Here Tonight, Tin Hearts, Soup, My Funny Valentine and Your Wide Eyes. The lyrics as always are poetic and evocative. Listening to this is like remembering a childhood trip to the seaside. It has a feel very much all it’s own. A certain childlike atmosphere that suddenly shows off it’s wisdom in a three word twist. And, just incase we get too comfortable Ian whisks the listener away into his crazily twisted bagpuss flavoured Czech animation world before the ending!

This is easily one of the best things I’ve heard in 2005. If there’s any justice in the world it’ll be played on radios far and wide. I really can’t recommend it enough. Unusually for me, I’ve played it through many, many times. Grab yourself a copy direct from Ian through his website before he shoots off into lofi interstellar quirky pop stardom!

And now, by popular demand, the Babbler will run through those tracks!

1. Music Here Tonight – Small town boredom alleviated by what else but a trip to a woman. Nice piano business on this. Simple, but highly effective. Something dark is lurking in this song. It’s actually quite a psychotic little number if you dig a little.

2. Tin Hearts – Delightful track with a guitar loops, baby gurgles, and some backwards business. This is one of the ones that gives me big nostalgia. Ian as a wee boy watching a girl playing space invaders – ‘the most beautiful girl in the world’. Nice song. Well done.

3. Soup – Richly enveloping song. It flies at you gently just like the haunted tin of soup that stars in it. That’s right, Ian’s singing about a haunted tin of soup. I love the synth motif that floats in and out of this. A real little masterpiece and quite simply the best song about soup you’re ever likely to hear. But it all turns out well in the end!

4. My Funny Valentine – Ah Ian, he’s a wee romantic soul with his yellow rose and his woman’s heart in his hands. Nice song this one. Quite simply a good song with some nice production wizardry to spice it up.

5. The Distance – Dark disturbing, almost drum and bass pastiche with a mixture of feelings that would really be excrutiatingly barren were it not for a french synth pop styling that should be incoherent, but somehow fits very well indeed

6. A Breather – Welcome to the first segueway, i can sense he’s been resisting this so far. A little guitar and vocals instrumental ditty that is indeed a good little break to lead us into…

7. Your Wide Eyes – The beginning of a love affair perhaps. It’s like a 50s guitar soft rock ballad. the melody has that simplistic innocence to it. Except this has skunk and drink in it… and watch out for one of the first musically rendered sex scenes. Although I think they must have been on the old mushrooms! Which leads very nicely musically and thematically into…

8. Siren – A bitter sweet tale of love with an almost medieval flavour through it, if that’s possible in lofi pop world. I think it’s rather the morning after the night before.

9. Bite – Psychotic Czech animation penetrating my dreams with alarm clocks that snap and tear at my skin equals the one track I find myself hitting skip on every time. I’m sure he was going for that, naughty little man!

10. A Shambles – I love the clever use of typewriter rythms and beeps in this. Seemingly random but meshing inot a nice rythm. It’s rather trademark Ian actually, but worthy of pointing out. (There’s loads of business like that throughout the whole CD). An ode to love fading like the reflection of the brakelights of her departing car in the snow, leading to a nasty accident. Love is dangerous. Indeed it is. Guitar chops to out. Nice.

11. You Know Why You’re Here – Quite possibly the oddest track on the CD. Has Ian died and gone to heaven… I won’t spoil the suprise. I really hate when people tell me the end of a good film, so you’ve got to go and see it yourselves!

Citizen Awake – Ian Simpson

thefamilysimpson.wordpress.com

I’ve been familiar with ian’s music for some time now. All in all 4 years. He produces a strange blend of folk, electronica and pop, tied together with lo-fi sensibilities. In essence ian records songs in a style very much his own. Citizen Awake is Ian’s 5th solo cd, having been written over the past two years. In that time, Ian has been out gigging on the Aberdeen accoustic circuit – building something of a reputation – and it shows. This collection of songs & quirky shorts is delivered with reassuring confidence. A warning to all hit-parade affectionados – this ones not for you. However, if your musical tastes fall somewhere in the ‘belle & sebastian’ neibourhood of audio suburbia, then you’re going to like this. It’s lyrically rich, melodic, melancholic and whistfully humorous. The music is firmly grounded by accoustic guitar – backed up by unusual beats, breaks & production touches. Anyone with a lo-fi bent or a taste for the far left of electronica will find this little gem sits proudly in their collection. This is possibly the most inward of Ian’s CDs so far. It evokes white painted half-lit rooms looking out on grey winter landscapes. An inherent bleakness lingers in nearly all of the proceedings. But, in contrast it does have warmth : the cosiness of a northern pub on a freezing wet night filled with old familiar friends, providing a dash of colour lest things become too maudlin.

OK – as is often my muse, a brief run down of the tracks for the more deeply delving amongst us.

1 a bottle of wine in the park
Starts with an alarm call fitted well to the CD’s title. A sparce number with guitar, vocals and some light percusion in places, it tells the story of a missed opportunity. Bitter?
2 april in amsterdam
Appropriately mellow number, with accoustic guitar over a train-evoking beat. About a trip to amsterdam, or maybe something darker?
3 change from 3 points of view
Oh I do like the electropop vibe through this. I can’t quite get a handle on it’s lyrical content, but the moods are great.
4 spot the difference
Beats like having your head stuck in a pinball machine while someone calmly and methodically discusses 2 seperate scenes. A segue for sure and not to my taste. Something dark lingers in the narration though.
5 winter song
This ties in well. Definitely a wierd one, seems to centre around someone waiting for a call. I like the way this gets all heavy towards the end with a lo-bit bass – nice contrast!
6 far off cry
This for me is definitely a gem waiting to be found. A darkly ambient track with a hispanic vibe that erupts into lo-fi noise rock. Nice!
7 snowfall
Cool start to this one – it builds into the song very nicely with bass, synth and ambient touches. Hey, it even features a harmonica & a kazoo – enough alone to win my vote! Actually this one is another gem in the collection, I really like the dynamic in this track. Seriously – the mellow passage with the kazoo is bliss. Somewhat paradoxically snowfall is quite possibly the warmest track of the bunch.
8 why I ran
This track is the strongest for me – No, I’m not saying that because my dear friend Salome & I play viola & accordion on it. I just really like the european bohemia feel. Reminds me of drinking coffee and smoking a pungent cigar.- got to love that! Great lyrics delivered with ease, nice melodies, good flow and a little edginess thrown in. Very nice.
9 tall oak
A wee hypothesis, in spoken word with a humerous twist. It fits well in context.
10 It’s a beautiful world
This is a really fine track to close with, it leaves a nice aftertaste. A melodic & sentimental song that features that pub I mentioned earlier. There’s some very poignant vocal business in this and the subtle hook will follow you around like an old friend for the rest of the day.