Sid Simons - Beneath The Brightest Smiles
"Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" might be a famous aughts album title by the Arctic Monkeys, but the contradictory phrasing is also a worthy descriptor for Sid Simons’ forthcoming album, Beneath The Brightest Smiles. Formerly known as GIRL SKIN, Simons has created a stunning nine-track project that both revels in contradiction and effortlessly fits together like an intricate jigsaw puzzle.
Simons’ sophomore album reflects his multicultural upbringing. Based in Brooklyn, Simons is technically a citizen of the world. Born in Portland and raised in Australia, Simons later moved to New York and later attended high school in Shanghai before moving back to New York by himself to pursue music. Initially, Simons played in rotating band lineups under the now-defunct GIRL SKIN, a moniker for releasing music that Simons wrote and produced in his parents’ basement and bedrooms. Today, performing under his own name, Simons has gathered a magnetic and poetic collection of songs together with the help of a backing band and superproducer Gordon Raphael.
Best known for producing the Strokes’ debut EP The Modern Age, as well as their first two landmark albums, This Is It and Room On Fire, Raphael was a natural fit to work with Simons, who draws sonic influence from the early-aughts rock revival group, plus their rowdy UK counterpart the Libertines, classic-rock shapeshifter David Bowie, and strains of Motown and Americana. Raphael flew in from his homebase in the UK to work with Simons, and together they fleshed out what would become Beneath The Brightest Smiles at Mercy Sound Recording Studios in the East Village.
“I have completely different influences,” Simons relates. “On this album particularly I wanted to kind of have a crosspoint between ‘60s soul and r&b, blended with a Meet Me In The Bathroom-era feel and Americana.
“Each song has a completely different feel,” Simons continues. “But I feel like it is all quite cohesive. Some songs were written four years ago, and then some were written three months ago. I'd saved those older songs because I knew they weren't going to fit on that first album.”
Sure enough, opener “WENDY” blasts into the room with stage-setting snare and a celebratory guitar solo. Backed by a propulsive chorus, Simons’ agile, lightly growling vocals tell a story, ostensibly about a woman named “Wendy” who’s “topsy turvy” and “can’t tell her left from right.” The joke, however, is that “Wendy” is not so much a real person as she is the voice of Simons’ malfunctioning GPS: “Wendy’s a little unsteady/ In a muddle day and night… Wendy’s never really ready… Her satellites just don’t align.”
Sid Simons - Beneath The Brightest Smiles
"Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" might be a famous aughts album title by the Arctic Monkeys, but the contradictory phrasing is also a worthy descriptor for Sid Simons’ forthcoming album, Beneath The Brightest Smiles. Formerly known as GIRL SKIN, Simons has created a stunning nine-track project that both revels in contradiction and effortlessly fits together like an intricate jigsaw puzzle.
Simons’ sophomore album reflects his multicultural upbringing. Based in Brooklyn, Simons is technically a citizen of the world. Born in Portland and raised in Australia, Simons later moved to New York and later attended high school in Shanghai before moving back to New York by himself to pursue music. Initially, Simons played in rotating band lineups under the now-defunct GIRL SKIN, a moniker for releasing music that Simons wrote and produced in his parents’ basement and bedrooms. Today, performing under his own name, Simons has gathered a magnetic and poetic collection of songs together with the help of a backing band and superproducer Gordon Raphael.
Best known for producing the Strokes’ debut EP The Modern Age, as well as their first two landmark albums, This Is It and Room On Fire, Raphael was a natural fit to work with Simons, who draws sonic influence from the early-aughts rock revival group, plus their rowdy UK counterpart the Libertines, classic-rock shapeshifter David Bowie, and strains of Motown and Americana. Raphael flew in from his homebase in the UK to work with Simons, and together they fleshed out what would become Beneath The Brightest Smiles at Mercy Sound Recording Studios in the East Village.
“I have completely different influences,” Simons relates. “On this album particularly I wanted to kind of have a crosspoint between ‘60s soul and r&b, blended with a Meet Me In The Bathroom-era feel and Americana.
“Each song has a completely different feel,” Simons continues. “But I feel like it is all quite cohesive. Some songs were written four years ago, and then some were written three months ago. I'd saved those older songs because I knew they weren't going to fit on that first album.”
Sure enough, opener “WENDY” blasts into the room with stage-setting snare and a celebratory guitar solo. Backed by a propulsive chorus, Simons’ agile, lightly growling vocals tell a story, ostensibly about a woman named “Wendy” who’s “topsy turvy” and “can’t tell her left from right.” The joke, however, is that “Wendy” is not so much a real person as she is the voice of Simons’ malfunctioning GPS: “Wendy’s a little unsteady/ In a muddle day and night… Wendy’s never really ready… Her satellites just don’t align.”
