Simple Minds – “Honest Town”

Simple Minds were more than a trendy new wave band.  Their songs were lush and nuanced with lyrics vague enough so that they could apply to any situation, as long as it involved yearning. As an aspirational teen, “Promised You A Miracle” could easily be about my dream boyfriend or a completed term paper or soccer win, depending on that day’s needs. I maintain that The Breakfast Club wouldn’t have been nearly as successful if genius music supervisor David Anderle hadn’t realized this and used “Don’t You Forget About Me” as a theme to represent the communal angst of “a criminal, a jock, a princess, a nerd, and a basket case.”

Simple Minds went through a lot of iterations – some were better than others and all involved singer/songwriter Jim Kerr. 34 years in (!), and Mr. Kerr is back with long-time creative partner/guitarist Charlie Churchill, and a handful of new collaborators. The new record is called Big Music and it’s out in the world on November 3rd. Jim Kerr’s voice sounds great and the band manages to sound simultaneously classic and modern. Many of the songs were co-written with fellow Glaswegian Iain Cook of Chvrches, including this first single “Honest Town”.