If ever asked, I advise bands to choose a name for themselves, their album or songs that is not too general, something that, when searched for, doesn’t find you on page 17 of the results below a whole list of similarly named but ultimately irrelevant results. Well, I’m still trying to work out if the enigmatically titled * is an example of that or the exact opposite. Either way, it might give the search engines a hard time finding what you want.
This is a shame because * it is a fantastic album, one that you should all have in your lives and readily at your fingertips. And if you want a quick snapshot of the ground covered on this, Simeon Kirkegaard’s second album, then all you need to do is play the first two tracks. As a one-two opening sonic blow, it tells you everything you need to know. If opener, “Fever”, is an example of brilliantly crafted pop-rock, music made at that perfect collision point of groove and grit, muscle and melody, “Wave After Wave,” which follows, is gentle, ambient and orchestral pop of the finest order.
And so it goes, “Ocean Life Living” is urgent and full of shimmering guitar sheen and “Black Dog” is a relaxed and chiming, and indeed charming, song. And if “Taken By You” runs on a sort of Americana-infused, lush pop energy, “If Only” is a drifting and dreamlike final statement to this gorgeous album.
The point is that there is no one sound found here, but at whichever end of the spectrum we find Simeon Kirkegaard working in – vibrant rockscapes or serene pop realms; he proves the master of all he surveys.
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