Simple Kid - 1

Hailing from Cork, Ireland, Ciaran McFeely is the one-man band Simple Kid. He didn’t have a straight shot to the notoriety he’s getting now, but his self-titled debut solo album has some very neat and equally strange music going on. Sometimes he evokes the sound of Beck; sometimes he evokes Ziggy Stardust. And sometimes he just does his own freaky thing. From the computerized beckoning of “Hello,” you can tell this is a record that isn’t easy to ignore. You might love it or hate it, but you will find that you have to form some kind of opinion. And while Beck is an obvious influence or comparison, there is enough individuality in the quality of the music to keep it different and entertaining. He has that sort of quirky “I am an iconoclast” stuff to him for which critics and “cool people” everywhere are sure to praise him. If you’re not paying attention, you might think you put in Neil Young by mistake on “Truck On.” The sound doesn’t continue throughout the song, but the opening harmonica is completely Neil. With an anthem like this though, it’s not likely that the, um, fashion trend of trucker caps will be leaving us soon. “Supertramps and Superstars” actually sounds like it could have been a Revolver-era Beatles tune. It's plucky and has distorted vocals telling the story of a tragic party girl who’s “…dressed up with no where to cry.” This is probably the most cohesive song on the record. Nasally and sing-song, “Kids Don’t Care” is an ode to the apathetic youth that had the same effect on me sonically as fingernails on a blackboard. The twangy guitar and blasé delivery coupled with another Neil Young harmonica were just a bit too much. There is also a rather irreverent little diddy as a hidden track at the end that opens with “I don’t give a damn that Diana was halved.” Yikes! Call him a little daring at least for that one. I think the problem with Simple Kid for me lies in the fact that I can’t quite follow what’s going on. There are so many styles colliding on the record that I just can't get too invested in it. Still, at least it was enough for me to actually feel something, one way or the other, about every track. These days, that’s saying something. [www.simplekid.com]