So will this Simon love the new album by Simon Love or not, well Love, Sex And Death etc covers a good amount of ground, with sensitive Love songs and tirades against the Tory government and a host of other life in between. Simon Love used to be in The Loves, this album was recorded in two sessions in 2020 and was written between 2017 and 2020.
This opens with the insistent chat up lines and glam pop of Me And You, as Simon lays his heart on the line and begs and pleads to walk down the aisle with you, with some church bells and a cool trumpet to accompany him on this proposal.
I Will Dance is a list of all the things that make Simon want to get up and dance like there's no tomorrow, or all the things that make you want to tramp down the dirt and dance on someone's grave, specifically the current Tory government, despite the sometimes-dark lyrics this is still an upbeat slice of dance led indie pop with a great guitar part that doesn't let up.
The Fuck-up is a very sweet-sounding song of love and despair and all points in between with lush backing vocals and careworn lyrics that will reward repeated listening as you get to the breakdown and the rap about the despicable tory government, although if I remember rightly the speech that's sampled was about Maggie T rather than Bozo the clown.
North Road is a good chugging bar band blues duet of love lust and missed signals on the North Road, which could mean they have been hanging out at a dodgy club at the Pleasance theatre and everything's going off again, like the guitar solo and the great honking brass section, that makes this a magnificently rollicking tune.
You're On Your Own is an almost Slim Chance style bucolic country indie hoe-down of hate for someone who needs to be completely ghosted, it's full of bile and hatred for the sort of idiot who unfailingly fails upwards to everyone's consternation and ends up being totally alone as they have screwed over everyone who ever gets close to them.
Yvonne was apparently one of his paramours, who although she tried to throw herself at him, he somehow missed the signals and opportunities she may have presented to him for enlightenment and love.
I Will Always Love You Anyway is a country-tinged song of love and regret as you ignore every rumour or story you hear about a near and dear friend and stick by them no matter what they've done, well apart from sleeping with Boris obviously.
The Worst Way To Die starts slowly and lists a few of the more popular ways to die, some of which you may think would be a good way to go and some less so, while getting a little bit maudlin at its heart this is an organ led song of love and hope that you'll get to die together at a ripe old age.
L-O-T-H-A-R-I-O is a song of lust that starts in the good old long gone Buffalo bar, as he tries to get his way with the object of that nights desire, full of careful detail of what happened and how it went wrong or right and how the one night stand unfolds, this feels like it has a strong Divine Comedy influence and a very funny and tawdry tale unfolds.
I Love Everyone In The Whole Wide World (Except You) appears to nick a similar Beatles part to one that Oasis nicked several times over, but thankfully this is far better than that might suggest, as he unloads his hatred for that one special ex, as this builds to it's inevitable climax.
Au Revoir My Dude is a slow acoustic strum of advice for his son in case he leaves this world before his son is an adult and knows how much his dad loves him aaah.
The album closes with an instrumental take on the opening song Me & You Reprise) that brings to an end an album that is very easy to love.
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