Simple Minds’ first album in five years, Big Music, is pleasant enough to listen to, but it fails to cover any new ground. The Scottish band formed in 1977 and reached international fame eight years later with “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” in The Breakfast Club. But 16 albums into their career, it’s a mystery why anyone thought there needed to be another Simple Minds album in the world.
Each song blends into the next with little to distinguish them from each other; generic drums pound under each tune with no purpose except to keep the beat, airy keyboards trill up and down, and frontman Jim Kerr sings in a brooding whisper. Track after track drones on, merely repeating the musical phrases that were established in the first few bars.
By playing it safe, Simple Minds have achieved an album of harmless tunes that are devoid of all personality. Their extensive United Kingdom tour scheduled from February through May hints at ambitious aspirations, but Big Music does not provide the songs to back this up.
On “Imagination” Kerr urges that, “Money can’t buy/ Imagination.” And yet, Big Music is the least imaginative album I have heard in a long time. The result is the feeling that Simple Minds are searching for creative relevance by regurgitating what worked for them in the past—but that was 30 years ago.
Kerr sums up most of the album perfectly in “Broken Glass Park” when he rasps, “I’m still wondering/ Do you remember me?” On an album that was intended to reinvent classic '80s rock, Simple Minds just sound like they are desperately trying to relive their glory days.
As a whole, Big Music is inoffensive and the melodies are easy to listen to if you overlook the repetitive nature and inane lyrics. But that is just the problem. I would rather hear weird and brand new music than a repeat of what was once popular. Overall, Simple Minds have created shallow album that is instantly forgettable because Big Music is nothing the world hasn’t heard before.
Rating: C-
