Album Review: Simon & The Astronauts - "Simon & The Astronauts"

 

We first became aware of psychedelic folkie types Simon & The Astronauts via their rather lovely Walking In London single a couple of months back which was reminiscent of a less annoyingly twee Belle & Sebastian. It piqued my interest sufficiently to give their album a listen and I'm happy that I did.

What we've got here essentially is an enjoyably tuneful slice of indie-pop which has been given a 21st century nip and tuck to keep it interesting and varied. Hence while the likes of the defiant I Have A Name and the bubbling Pay It Back and 10 League Boots, which conjures up the image of Dubstar covering one of No Doubt's gentle ballads, a not unpleasant sound, deliver on the tunes, The Kiss That Landed goes into classic girl group territory and All My Days is a sinister poison waltz. Elsewhere, they dip their toes into winsome Beatles-y psychedelia (Athena), Strawberry Switchblade style goth-pop (I Do) and heartstring-tugging laments to lost times (the aforementioned Walking In London).

Overall, this is a pleasant 40 odd minutes of tuneful indie pop with choruses and hooks which will embed themselves in your brain and have you cueing up a second listen. They don't quite hit the target every time (some of the later songs like Parallel World and Chess are a bit anonymous) but all in all, this is a good album which deserves to take this band to a bigger audience.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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