Simple Songs is the third and final singer-songwriter album by American musician Jim O'Rourke for Drag City.[2] It was released on May 19, 2015, nearly fourteen years after O'Rourke's previous singer-songwriter album Insignificance (2001).[3]
| Simple Songs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 19, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2009-2015[1] | |||
| Studio | Hoshi To Niji, Steamroom (Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:38 | |||
| Label | Drag City | |||
| Producer | Jim O'Rourke | |||
| Jim O'Rourke chronology | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception edit
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.0/10[4] |
| Metacritic | 86/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| American Songwriter |    [6] |
| Consequence of Sound | B[7] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[8] |
| Financial Times | [9] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 9/10[10] |
| Mojo | [11] |
| Pitchfork | 8.6/10[12] |
| Record Collector | [13] |
| Uncut | 8/10[14] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 86 based on 14 professional reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[5]
Accolades edit
| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 45[15]
|
| Stereogum | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 9[16]
|
| The Wire | Releases of the Year 1–50 | 2015 | 7[17]
|
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Jim O'Rourke
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Friends with Benefits" | 5:25 |
| 2. | "That Weekend" | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Half Life Crisis" | 4:42 |
| 4. | "Hotel Blue" | 3:21 |
| 5. | "These Hands" | 3:13 |
| 6. | "Last Year" | 5:47 |
| 7. | "End of the Road" | 5:33 |
| 8. | "All Your Love" | 6:22 |
| Total length: | 37:38 | |
Personnel edit
The following people contributed to Simple Songs:[18]
- Main personnel
- Jim O'Rourke – vocals, guitar
- Sudoh Toshiaki – bass
- Tatsuhisa Yamamoto – drums
- Akiko Yoshino – french horn (4, 6, 7, 8)
- Ren Takada – pedal steel guitar (5)
- Eiko Ishibashi – piano, organ
- Jun Moriyama – saxophone (3)
- Nahoko Kamei – saxophone (3, 7)
- Atsuko Hatano – strings
- Daysuke Takaoka – tuba (2, 3, 6, 8)
- Additional personnel
- John Golden – mastering
- Kuniyoshi Taikou – photography
References edit
- ^ Jim O'Rourke – Interview. Bomb (magazine). Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- ^ "Austen Interviews Jim O'Rourke". The Needle Drop. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
- ^ "Simple Songs - Jim O'Rourke". Drag City. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
- ^ "Simple Songs by Jim O'Rourke reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ a b "Reviews for Simple Songs by Jim O'Rourke". Metacritic. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- ^ Horowitz, Hal (June 25, 2015). "Jim O'Rourke: Simple Songs". American Songwriter. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ Kivel, Adam (May 12, 2015). "Jim O'Rourke – Simple Songs". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ Khanna, Vish (May 15, 2015). "Jim O'Rourke: Simple Songs". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (May 16, 2015). "Jim O'Rourke: Simple Songs — review". Financial Times. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
- ^ Wisgard, Alex (May 14, 2015). "Jim O'Rourke's called his new album Simple Songs, the big kidder". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ "Jim O'Rourke: Simple Songs". Mojo (260). July 2015.
- ^ Richardson, Mark (May 15, 2015). "Jim O'Rourke: Simple Songs". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ Kennedy, Jake (June 2015). "Jim O'Rourke – Simple Songs". Record Collector (441). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ Mulvey, John (July 2015). "Jim O'Rourke: Simple Songs". Uncut (218): 80.
- ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2015". stereogum.com. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
- ^ "2015 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 383. London. January 2016. p. 32 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
- ^ Simple Songs – Credits. Discogs. Retrieved December 15, 2015.