Description
Simple Things is a timelessly classic album and the essential soundtrack to any laidback summer chilling. Zero 7's ability to conjure beautiful lullabies with all the romance of 1960s French pop, as found on their debut long-player Simple Things, made them the toast of soundtrack composers and chillout connoisseurs the world over.
Their debut is a truly gorgeous album. All the tried and tested atmospheric tricks are in play - bleeps and whooshes layered over plodding Fender Rhodes chords, swathes of strings and tender trumpet parps - but it's Binns and Hardaker's languid grooves and the soft melancholy of their melodies that make dream-state instrumentals Give It Away and Polaris utterly enchanting.
The real power of Simple Things, however, is in its songs. As beautiful as their ambient strains are, it's when laid beneath the seductive vocals of Australian diva Sia on the ethereal Destiny or the heart breaking Distractions that their potency becomes apparent.