Review Summary: “Don't go see them if you're shy”
Love, in all its forms, is a complex emotion – but perhaps not because of the feeling itself. It could be true that love is simple, and surrounding norms or expectations complicate. With
Love is Simple Akron Family seem to take a kind of organic quality, not too heavy with intention, and craft eclectic, energetic songs.
Love, Love, Love (Everyone) begins the record with a down-tempo country croon about, well, loving everyone. It's more of an intro track than anything, but it succeeds in setting the tone for the rest of the album: a sense of pure freedom which allows the band to slip into different genres. Sometimes this slip is unnoticed by the listener until the realization that the country song has completely transformed into a tribal chant. This is the case for the transition into the second track,
Ed is a Portal.
After the bipolar
Ed is a Portal Akron/Family play the folk ballad
Don't Be Afraid, You're Already Dead. Although there isn't a whole lot of continuity between these two tracks, that sense of freedom from any unbreakable rules is still there. Anyone unfamiliar to the band will understand at this point that they really could go anywhere with the next song, and chances are we won't question it.
A few seconds of noise brings in one of the highlights of the album,
I've Got Some Friends. The song is more upbeat than anything heard yet on the record. This lyric sums up the feeling I get from the track:
“I've got some friends that you should meet
All good men
All good women
All their names
But don't go see them if you're shy
Because they are always in embrace beyond propriety”
To me this line brings up that idea of love without the hesitation firmly linked to it in our society. The band sings about this wild group of friends, while their motley crew puts this mentality into practice.
The quirky tribal music comes back about halfway through
Lake Song/New Ceremonial Music for Moms which continues into
There's So Many Colors, a definite high point. For the first part of the song, the tribal rhythms continue with ambient sounds and the chanting of “There's so many colors/Without the dirty windows.” The group builds on the energy from this to go into the loose and groovy rest of the song, sounding like a Crazy Horse jam.
The soft acoustic
Crickets precedes
Phenomena. It begins as another country ballad, but after about thirty seconds a funk-heavy chorus comes in. The song has a kind of back-and-forth form, and the tongue-in-cheek comparison of Christ to rice is one of the most memorable moments of the album.
Pony's OG starts off with a beautiful intro of clean guitar picking and a single vocal melody, until about two thirds of the way through where the production gives the feeling that the song will fall apart, with the help of layered vocals and reverb. Maybe not filler, but this is not one of the best tracks on the record.
Of All the Things switches gears to a jam/sing-along to start, but like most songs on the record, it doesn't keep a constant mood for very long. In a lot of ways this track takes everything the bands has done in the record and sums it up. They acknowledge every sonic corner of their universe, with complete confidence. The track ends with noisy jamming, and brings us back to
Love, Love, Love (Reprise).
Love is Simple is a unique record, and I recommend it for anyone wanting to get into more experimental indie. The album is not without its faults, with some tracks going on a little too long or lacking a little focus. However, while not a classic this record is a fantastic effort. With all the sounds on the album you're bound to like some, and maybe like me you'll love it all.
Recommended tracks:
Phenomena
I've Got Some Friends
There's So Many Colors
