After a decade-and-a-half of faltering and making records by trial and error,
Simple Minds
regained their sanity and rediscovered the anthemic, synth-drenched Euro dance-rock sound that made them a chart staple during the early '80s. Oddly, they wandered off the path with the lazy
Acoustic
two years later.
Walk Between Worlds
finds them on much surer footing, regaining much of the energy that infused their great run of albums between 1979's
Real to Real Cacophony
and 1985's
Once Upon a Time
. Vocalist
Jim Kerr
and guitarist
Charlie Burchill
are the lone surviving original members, but they re-enlisted drummer
Mel Gaynor
, bassist
Ged Grimes
, and vocalist
Sarah Brown
from
Big Music
, and employed a host of backing singers. As a whole,
careens from strength to strength, even if it is drenched in nostalgia. While many bands who emerged during the post-punk and synth pop eras have unsuccessfully attempted the same feat (the most notable being
U2
, who failed so miserably in rediscovering their root identity on
Songs of Innocence
and
Songs of Experience
),
are not only able to remember who they were, but they execute it almost without a hitch.
They waste no time in bringing out the big beats to let the listener know, too. Set opener "Magic" would have been right at home as a single between
Sons and Fascination
New Gold Dream
. Gated synths and thundering live drums propelled by a throbbing bassline and
Burchill
's
Edge
-esque guitar atmospherics build a sonic wall behind
Kerr
as he alternately croons, shouts, and occasionally whispers dramatically. The whomping guitar, bass, and drum thud in "Summer" is over the top.
counters the barely restrained attack by alternately brooding and snarling until the bridge, where his softer emotions emerge through the mix. Other than
's crunchier-than-normal guitar in "The Signal and the Noise," the synth- and drum-laden anthem would have been a welcome entry on
Empires and Dance
. "The Barrow and the Star" is the album's hinge track musically and lyrically.
's words are conflicted between recalling poignant memories, and an elusive (i.e., hopeless) wish for the opportunity to begin again. Buoyed by a string section and a full backing chorus, it's stirring and moving in the same way as "Don't You Forget About Me" without sounding remotely like it. Contrast this with "Sense of Discovery," where the protagonist relates hope as it emerges from seemingly aimless waiting and gritty, mettle-testing faith. The lyrics are threaded through a midtempo ballad that erupts into a full-blown rock crescendo during the guitar break, elevating the entire proceeding amid swirling synths and strident vocal interplay between
,
Brown
, and the backing chorus. A reading of
Ewan MacColl
's eternal "Dirty Old Town" closes the set, with
in duet as it is remade in the Glaswegian rockers' likeness.
offers further proof that
can flaunt what they are because they finally understand just who they are. ~ Thom Jurek