Self Titled

The self titled album by The Simple Things ? a San Francisco based band ? has conjured up a steaming pot of thoughts about their music. First and foremost, I will say there is a certain beautiful sounding quality to each of the 10 tracks. However, throughout my listening, I was waiting for something more; perhaps an explosion of drums, the riff of a guitar, or just some sort of introduction of something to kick these songs up a few notches. It would give these songs more flavor and certainly attract a wider audience.

Overall, the album is very sad and depressing as the piano plays a very prominent role of the band. The only "kick" given to make any standout of a song was the little jazzy feel generated by the piano, but it's not enough to save the music. It's tediously slow moving as each song could either rock you to sleep or just make you feel depressed.

Basically, all the songs seemed like love ballads dedicated to the lone girl who walked out of someone's life, even if the lyrics don't clearly state it. The Simple Things need a jolt or some kind of fire lit underneath to propel them to do bigger things. They need to expand their horizons because, aside from their subtlety in their unique blend of sounds, it's not enough. You shouldn't have to listen that closely to pick up on certain flairs of the band. The Simple Things depress you with their sorrow and touch the apathetic side of you as you sit there uninterested and waiting to embrace sad demons you tucked away long ago.