Released:
Rating:
Distinctly indistinct.
Label: Somewhat Damaged / Kobalt
Released: October 14th 2016
Rating: ★★★
‘Simple Forms’ is an intriguing listen. Straight from the go, The Naked and Famous’s pop influences are right at the front of the sound with opener and single ‘Higher’ manifesting as a slick, fist pumping pop song. ‘The Water Beneath You’ embraces EDM with a monstrous drop but feels distinctly indistinct. This is a problem which runs throughout the album, it doesn’t feel remotely unique. There are hundreds of different musicians that could have written these songs. The spark that gave rise to the Naked and Famous in the first place seems to have extinguished.
Much of the album feels awkwardly put together – particularly ‘My Energy’ & ‘Laid Low’. It sounds as if the band went for a more commercial sound in an attempt to find more success but in doing so they’ve gotten rid of what made the band special in the first place. It’s not a bad record by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not going to shatter the world either. Josh Williams
