When
Simple Minds
released
Black and White
in 2005, it was obvious they'd been doing some creative soul searching in light of the success of bands clearly influenced by them, namely,
the Killers
and
Manic Street Preachers
. 2009's
Graffiti Soul
saw the return of drummer
Mel Gaynor
to the fold. He brought a familiar, tight, propulsive foundation to
Charlie Burchill
's guitar playing and
Andy Gillespie
's imaginative synths.
Jim Kerr
's alternately whispering and soaring vocals were still at the fore, but were showcased inside more economical songwriting, and
Jez Coad
's production celebrated the band's pop identity.
Big Music
finds
coming full circle -- going all the way back to 1979 for inspiration. They've rediscovered the urgent, keyboard-driven post-punk futurism of recordings such as
Empires and Dance
Sons and Fascination
. Rather than try to merely re-create them, they've integrated them with the more guitar-centric classicism of
New Gold Dream
,
Sparkle in the Rain
, and
Once Upon a Time
. Three tracks here -- "Blindfolded," "Midnight Walking," and " Imagination" -- draw directly from
circa 1982-1985. Big beats and drum programs, careening synth pop, and
Burchill
's fat, edgy guitar frame
Kerr
's trademark clipped phrasing, which emotes even when he's whispering. "Honest Town," one of two tunes written with the
Chvrches
'
Iain Cook
, is a gem. It's as stirring as "Someone Somewhere in Summertime," but with its house intro and trancey pulse fueling the moving narrative (
taking his dying mother for a last drive around their town), it dives headlong into dance music. This isn't an isolated incident. The other
Cook
collab, "Blood Diamonds," uses
SM
's textured, synth-driven romanticism to blur vintage and modern dance pop. The quirky, fat kick drums and loops in the intro, and the choruses of "Kill or Cure" evoke glitch with four-on-the-floor basslines and synth pulses adorned with shimmering guitars in the verses. Despite the
Cult
-esque guitar riff in the intro, "Imagination" is a largely electro-driven rocker; it suggests
more than it does anything else --
Gillespie
's multivalent keyboards are in accelerated swerve. "Concrete and Cherry Blossom" and "Broken Glass Park" are anthems laden with irresistible hooks and warm atmospherics. They revel in the cinematic drama of
's voice. (The former contains the repetitive line "I'm on the rooftop" which unmistakably and unabashedly echoes "I'm on the catwalk....") The cover of
the Call
's "Let the Day Begin" substitutes enormous, zig -zagging synth vamps in place of the original's roaring guitars (though
stings in the break alongside a bagpipe sample). This revisioning displays the song's continued appeal even when updated for the club floor. Ultimately,
is certainly that. Here
have finally come to terms with all the fragments of their musical identity, focused them in a complementary manner, and delivered a whole with an unapologetic pop savvy and flair. It is easily their most consistent offering since
. ~ Thom Jurek