After 30 years, Jim Kerr and Charlie Birchall should have sorted out their band’s sound, so to find Graffiti Soul sounds a lot like Simple Minds is as much as fans should expect. That being the case, tracks like Light Travels and lead single Rockets press all the right buttons delivering large on the big chords, bigger choruses formula of “classic” Simple Minds.
Where it starts to get a little sticky is when they go for more contemporary sounds like the dance-tinged Moscow Underground; while the lyrics (never the band’s strongest suit) are fairly lame throughout.
It is, of course, the dilemma that all so-called heritage bands must confront – whether to fade away into nostalgia-show dependability or take the risk of falling flat in the pursuit of relevance?
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