''Simple Forms'' is the third studio album by New Zealand
indie electronic
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
band
The Naked and Famous
The Naked and Famous are a New Zealand indie electronic band from Auckland, formed in 2007. The band currently consists of Alisa Xayalith (vocals, keyboards) and Thom Powers (vocals, guitars).
The band has released four studio albums: ''Passi ...
. It was released on 14 October 2016 by Somewhat Damaged in partnership with
Kobalt Label Services.
"
Higher" was released as the album's lead single on 8 July 2016.
Critical reception
Matt Collar of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
commented that ''Simple Forms'' is "less overtly bombastic than the group's previous work" and "
ere's a tenderness to the arrangements that feels straightforward and uncluttered", concluding, "Ultimately, if there is a nuanced sophistication to the band's work on ''Simple Forms'', it feels genuine and hard-won."
Jaymz Clements of ''
Rolling Stone Australia
''Rolling Stone'' Australia is the Australian edition of the United States' ''Rolling Stone'' magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture, published monthly. The Australian version of ''Rolling Stone'' was initially published in 197 ...
'' wrote, "At times,
..it feels like the Naked and Famous are playing musical catch-up, as ''Simple Forms'' struggles to move beyond place-holder synth-pop like 'Water Beneath You'. But when
Xayalith and former partner Thom Powers team up on the sparkling 'My Energy' and 'Last Forever', their taut, dynamic atmosphere shines."
Cyclone Wehner of
News.com.au
news.com.au is an Australian website owned by News Corp Australia. It had 9.6 million unique readers in April 2019 and covers national and international news, lifestyle, travel, entertainment, technology, finance, and sport.
Staff
The organiza ...
felt that "
e trouble is that TNAF
..tend to work to an anthemic formula. And no songs here are as memorable as the early '
Young Blood'."
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Simple Forms''.
The Naked and Famous
*
The Naked and Famous
The Naked and Famous are a New Zealand indie electronic band from Auckland, formed in 2007. The band currently consists of Alisa Xayalith (vocals, keyboards) and Thom Powers (vocals, guitars).
The band has released four studio albums: ''Passi ...
– production
* Thomas Powers – production
Additional personnel
*
Ken Andrews
Ken Andrews (born Kenneth Andrew Doty; June 18, 1967) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Andrews was born in Seattle, Washington, and attended film school in Los Angeles before his band Failure received a record de ...
– mixing
*
Carlos de la Garza – live instrumentation engineering
* Joel Kefali – artwork
*
Joe LaPorta
Joseph J. LaPorta (born ) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey.http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-laporta-mn000199340/credits/date-asc/
Career
Born and raised in New York, LaPorta graduated from New York Unive ...
– mastering
* Sombear – additional production
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2016 albums
Albums produced by Carlos de la Garza (music producer)
The Naked and Famous albums