Album: Then We Collide
Artist: Simeon
Label: Independent
Sounds like: Paul Colman,
Mercyme

Framed, the last album from Australia’s Simeon, was intriguing for its joie de vivre and its undateability, with its—unintentionally perhaps—80s melodies and sounds. (If that seems overstated, just listen to a song like “Standing on the mountain,” then go listen to, say, Noiseworks.) There is some of that here—the track “Don’t forget where we’ve been” sounds like Icehouse or Simple Minds, and “Jealous lover” has all the swagger of Bon Jovi but, like how the 80s slid conventionally into the 90s, Then We Collide is more straightforward, less awash with ideas. A song like “I can’t breathe” is much closer to his contemporaries in the American Christian music scene, such as Mercyme. One gets the idea that Simeon is currently making music he feels he should make, rather than stamping an individual mark. “When we come undone” has a heavier blues-rock sound, like Jet or Black Crowes but feels forced. Much of the album aims for the territory of Paul Colman or Nathan Tasker, without quite the same wit as Colman, or lightness of touch as Tasker. “Wings of change” is a song made up entirely of lyrical clichés. But this is being critical. “Gently move my way” is irresistible, with a level of propulsion Newsboys would be proud of, and some neat Joe Satriani guitar moments (those 80s again!). “Satellite” and “High” sound like they belong on Paul Colman Trio’s One. Considering where he is now, for an Australian indie artist, one could do a lot worse than sounding like Paul Colman! 

Nick's Rating: 3/5