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Review - Simon Kelly - Gathering Tribes....
By Bruno de Paiva....
For Global Thunda Network....
http://www.globalthundanetwork.com/I’m the only full time journalist in the Gascoyne Region. I’ve had a
pretty stressful week as far as stressful weeks go; my work email was
down for two days, my car got bogged causing me to miss an interview
and I had to work Saturday.
Then something happened, I got home and Darkness, the first song on
Simon Kelly’s new album Gathering Tribes, came on. The stress stopped
then and there. I don’t know if it is just a fluke or whether Simon
Kelly is an intellectual genius, but having Darkness as the first song
on Gathering Tribes is the best decision he could have made.
The upbeat, positive vibes that ooze out of the sound waves quickly
captivates you into paying your full utmost attention to him and his
album. It is nearly hypnotic in nature.
Don’t get me wrong, the album is definitely not perfect; no songs on
the album scream ‘epic’ or ‘anthem’, but that does not really matter.
All in all, Gathering Tribes is a superb WA example of a positive,
rational chill out album.
As the album progresses, the songs become more about sitting back
and thinking rather than nodding your head and putting a smile on your
dial, but this is not a bad thing.
Take the laid back melodic ballad The Truth. Here Simon Kelly mixes
a fantastic reggae rhythm with some food for thought in a harmonious
equilibrium, as can be seen with the opening lines; ‘It’s ok if you
don’t get caught, but something tells you that’s not right, the truth
will hang you out to dry.’
That is what epitomizes Gathering Tribes, it is pure and it is real.
It is not intended to live in the higher reaches of the top 100 nor on
board the CD tower of someone who is not going to touch it ever again
after owning it for two weeks.
This is an album that screams to be appreciated; one for someone to
pull out and listen to when they want inspiration, when they want to
create some top vibes or just whenthey want to listen to something
genuine.
The question I’m asking now is whether or not Simon Kelly is Australia’s best kept secret in music.
The secret’s out now.