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Ciaran McFeely, or Simple Kid really has chosen the perfect band name for himself because his music is just as his name alludes, simple. In his album 2, Simple Kid used the same technique as he had in his debut album 1; recording onto an old 8-track cassette tape then mixing the tracks with drums and guitars on a computer, mostly all done at Simple Kid’s home. This is evident in the scratchy or aged sound that each song puts forth along with the homegrown feel that’s present in each track.

Simple Kid’s tracks all have a sort of old 60’s vibe to them and a strong sense of folk as he frequents the use of a banjo and sings of everyday life events. But the sometimes overbearing use of ‘noise’ as he calls it in several of his songs can be too much to bear. This album definitely has some great tunes like the mellow Old Domestic Cat, and Self-Help Book which feature some cutesy simplistic lyrics. But other tracks such as A Song of Stone start off OK but then move into a mess of what sounds like bombs exploding over the vocals that it takes an acquired taste in music to enjoy.

2 is definitely an album that over time will grow on you, but at first listen you may find yourself sitting there with a strange look on your face thinking, “What was that?” Lack of originality is one thing you definitely cannot accuse Simple Kid of as he really gives himself no boundaries in this sophomore album. He plays with different sounds, different lyrical movements, and he even seems to change the way that he sings in each song, some being sang in a soft and low vocal style while in others he seems to be channeling a 60’s musician who’s tripped out on drugs. Nevertheless, his haphazard way of recording songs definitely does touch at something good, as this album has some tunes that will definitely make it on your play list while others perhaps are a little too experimental for even the most daring music listener.