Album Review: Simple Minds - "Direction Of The Heart"

 

The prospect of a new Simple Minds album in 2022 is definitely one that makes you wonder exactly what you're going to get. The group are probably most remembered during their '80s heyday for slowly drifting away from their Roxy Music influenced art school roots towards being full on stadium rock superstars alongside U2 et al which eventually saw them pretty much pilloried right out of the big time for their perceived pretentiousness and lack of self-awareness.

However, they seem to have undergone something of a critical re-evaluation of late and I actually feel it's deserved - for all their faults, even at their most bombastic, Simple Minds were still capable of penning a good tune (Real Life, See The Lights) and the fact that they can still pack out arenas nowadays is proof that their appeal's definitely endured. And let's be honest, even at their worst, they never came across as being anywhere near as insufferable as Bono et al.

Direction Of The Heart is basically exactly what you'd want a Simple Minds album to sound like in 2023 and you can't really ask for much more than that - it's big, bombastic but is carried on by a group with an undeniable knack for a decent tune such as the soaring sinister First You Jump with good musicianship and the hooks to keep your interest piqued throughout. Russell Mael from Sparks even shows up to lend his unmistakeable backing vocals to Human Traffic - unexpected but definitely welcome. Oh sure, it's not all plain sailing - Solstice Kiss comes worryingly close to Spinal Tap territory - but on balance there's far more good than bad here.

Sure, Simple Minds are never gonna be a particularly cool band name to drop but I suspect they're rightly long past caring about that and Direction Of The Heart is simply the sound of a group of veterans putting their experience to good use to do what they do well. No complaints from me on that one.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

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