Simple Reason – Simple Reason
Crash Records – SR001A – 26.03.07
By Anna Novitzky
Teenage angst is a distressingly common emotion; almost everyone gets it, and they usually get it in a very similar way, despite the conviction each person’s that only they know the true nature of their suffering. Perhaps that’s why so much rock music is so very alike, despite the artist’s conviction that they are breaking new ground.
Simple Reason’s eponymous debut album is a prime example of this. From the opening hoarse wailing to the simple nasally melodic choruses and the occasional spoken-word interludes, it is by-the-numbers pop punk without the swearing. One has to pay close attention to the lyrics to realise that, rather than a parental grounding or youthful heartbreak, the songs seem, to a man, to be about how fun it is that the band have accepted Jesus into their lives. Good for them, if that’s what they’re into, but they have chosen a particularly insipid medium for their message.
Basically,
Simple Reason goes in one ear and out the other. The music is such an aural cliché that one switches off before even starting to listen to the lyrics. It’s been done before, it’s been done better, and – both musically and ideologically – it’s been done with rather less smug preaching.
3/10
Official Simple Reason Website
Offical Crash Records Website
