‘Our Glorious Hero Battles The Man’, Nottingham-based Timothy J Simpson’s debut record, exudes summer melodies and autumnal charm, all covered over with a melancholic view of the past: Britain’s answer to Damien Jurado?
T J Simpson
It was with initial trepidation that I first gave this record a spin; I’m so rooted in my acoustic music that anything new sent me has to be of an incredible caliber to get through into the regular play-list. That said, Timothy J Simpson’s method of breaking me down was a slow one; but he managed, where many, many others have failed.
On first listen, this record doesn’t bowl you over, but given time it most certainly will. The opening track ‘Wolves‘ makes you agog for the rest, but it’s sound is apart from the rest of the album and suitably the opener. Simpson got to the finals of the 2008 songwriting competition for second track ‘Keytones‘, a great achievement and well deserved.
You’re a Part of Me starts as a forgotten Idlewild track and mellows into Simpson’s simple, home-spun style. For me, this is a stand-out track of the album: an easy-listenable, sorrowful track of warm lyrics, suitable for those at the beach, perhaps.
Carrying on in the same fashion as mentioned, the record wraps up with notably different, rock-n-roll-esque Hooray with Simpson sounding like Two Gallants with Bob Seger . It’s an apt and ideal place for it, waking you up from the comfortable, duvet-wrapped snooze the preceding tracks placed you in. I’m not sure, but I’m guessing it’s a favorite of Simpson’s to play live.
As I said at the start, this record isn’t one you’ll be hugely impressed with initially. That’s actually a compliment though, as the pleasure to be found in ‘Our Glorious Hero Battles the Man’ is deeper and it’s charm is in it’s catchy lyrics, accessible melodies and simple, rustic sound.
Our Glorious Hero Battles The Man can be purchased from Amazon from 02/11/09
not as quaint as jurado but certainly listenable. ur right about hte duvet comment tho! x
awful spelling….”hte = the”! x