15th August 2011 brought to us the beautiful album ‘Young Pilgrim’, Charlie Simpson’s first solo album, and three years on, he’s not failed us with his second, ‘Long Road Home’. Known to most as one of the ‘Busted’ trio, Simpson is so much more, and has actually spent half of his life on the road. Since joining ‘Busted’ straight from school at the age of 16, he has had three successful albums and subsequent tours with his band ‘Fightstar’, whom he fronted as the lead vocalist, guitarist and co-lyricist. ‘Fightstar’ announced their prolonged hiatus in 2010, allowing Simpson to focus on his solo career.
‘Long Road Home’ is about reaching Simpson’s perfect record, being himself, and the trip he’s been on since the start of his career at 16. Title track ‘Long Road Home’ is the perfect choice to open the album with its upbeat tempo, and Simpson’s voice at its best, it fills you with great hope for the rest of the album.
One stand out track for me is the upbeat ‘Comet’, which could almost be a ‘Mumford & Sons’ track. It also includes echoes of “Hey” in true ‘Lumineers’ style, which has lead it to be criticised so far, though I think it’s unfair to compare every little detail to a different musician, as not every track can be signature. Lyrics “we are hopeless, we’re all comets” highlight Simpson’s lyrical abilities, as well as the theme of relationship issues.
‘Winter Hymns’ slows the album down with its beautiful guitar melody. The track appears to highlight the theme of relationship issues once again, with Simpson singing of days going fast, leading him to soon be rid of “this pain”. There’s a beautiful but brief solo towards the end of the track where the music cuts out, leaving you with just Simpson’s voice, before the music continues. It’s a haunting moment where you can really sit back and think of how far Simpson has come.
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Emily’ is another slow track featuring pure acoustic guitar. By just looking at the lyrics “close your eyes Emily and I’ll be with you”, you get the idea of how sweet and heartful the track is. It can only be described as a high harmony love letter and is by far the most intimate track on the album. I love that whenever the track seems to increase in tempo, it sounds like ‘Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way’, but I’m not too sure if that’s just me. ‘Would You Love Me Any Less’ is another acoustic number, which features Simpson being joined by a range of instruments before a climatic ending.
‘Haunted’ is another up-tempo track that is possibly the catchiest on the album, it’s hard to protect yourself from having the repition of “born together die together” racing around your head for a good couple of days. It’s not just single material, it’s perfect gig material, and I’m sure Simpson will use that to his advantage at his upcoming Roundhouse, London gigs.
The theme of Simpson’s trip home, and the fact he’s been on the road since the age of 16 is extremely prevalent in ‘Still Young’, with lyrics such as “for all the days we threw away”. Knowing his background is pretty much career based, it’s quite a refreshing track lyrically.
Simpson’s voice shines through the record, and it’s incredibly impressive, adding so much more to the album that he does all of the vocals, harmonising with himself. Simpson also conquered all instruments himself, apart from occasional drumming help. It’s a melancholic, folk style album, that appears to have a focus on love, as well as going home. ‘Young Pilgrim’ was a great album, and it was hard to see how Simpson could trump it, and now we’re in the exact same position with ‘Long Road Home’. In another few years, when we’ve been treated to the next solo album, I think Simpson will be his absolute best, and have truly found himself and his style. But for now, this is a cracking album, and we couldn’t have asked for much more from him.
Listen to the single ‘Haunted’ here:
By Laura Dean – @modestlaura
