| Beat the winter blues with the new early-aughts indie pop rock-inspired album, Simpleton, the latest release by DIY artist Kerrin Connolly. | | The Boston singer-songwriter and producer went viral in 2020 with their single "Fly in My Room", a quirky tune with instrument breaks that mimic a fly's insistent buzzing. Simpleton follows in the same vein, with undercurrents of anxiety lightened by Connolly's nostalgic guitar riffs and vocals that would sound at home in a 2000s pop-rock cult hit. | | Connolly describes Simpleton as a concept album that "explores the themes of a hero's journey" in a way that meshes archetypal and personal challenges, such as "the cyclical nature of creativity and grief" and "surviving OCD." | | The 12-track album's first single, "Quiet," addresses the cognitive dissonance of trying to put on a happy face while dealing with the turmoil of mental illness. "Quiet, quiet/Suffer in silence, silence," goes the chorus, the upbeat tune clashing with the heavy lyrics. "Let it all out, they tell me I should," sings Connolly, of well-meaning supporters who don't understand the depth of their struggle. "Get back, get back/You won't like me when I do what I'm ordered." | | "Ruminator/The rabbit hole's her favourite kind of captivity," describes the narrator of "Big Amygdala", Simpleton's second single, diving into what it's like to live with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Connolly personifies the brain as a foe that "Doesn't want you to know/It's watching out wherever you go", constantly amping up their biggest fears. "Does everyone hate me? Did I lock the door? Am I dying?" | | "Flowers Pt. 1" tones things down with soft harmonizing vocals and acoustic guitar, though the energy picks up with a "na, na, na" sonic hook that calls back to Y2K radio. "A night at the hospital winning the fight/A bouquet of flowers to aim the spotlight," sings Connolly, before ironically adding, "Good job getting well soon." The song dissects the maladaptive tendency to insist you're fine when you're not. | | Simpleton's final track, "Simple", brings things full circle, with Connolly acknowledging that "Change is harder than I thought it'd be" while vowing that "Every mean old story we tell… Will be rewritten if it takes me all my life." The ballad is complete with powerful vocals, soaring guitar, and poignant piano; determined to end the album on, if not a high note, then at least a determined one. | | "The insult 'simpleton' is representative of the main character's perceived rejection by others – feeling like they're a fool and an imposter in their field, but by the end of the album, you get a sort of reclamation of that word, where leading a simple life and trying to zoom out as much as you can is actually the point," Connolly states. "There's a reason the album cover is a mouse – a small thing obsessed with small problems, eating its own tail until it realizes the bigger picture." | | Simpleton is Connolly's third full-length album, following 2024's Transitions, and their 2020 debut album, Almost. Their album release show was this past Saturday at The Burren in Somerville, MA. | | | | |
