Perhaps best known as the frontman of South London indie pop / power pop outfit Bromide, Simon Bromide (aka Simon Berridge) has announced he will be releasing a solo album ‘Following The Moon’ in late autumn via Scratchy Records with distribution by Cargo Records. Ahead of this, he presents the lead track ‘The Waiting Room’.
“The song is about the things that didn’t happen for one reason or another,” says Simon Berridge, “Simple twists of fate or just stepping back from the edge.. in particular the lyrics refer to a letter proposing marriage sent to my mother many years ago. The letter never arrived and the sender presumed the lack of a reply was his answer. Things were different back then.. as it says in the song ‘The Postal Service Saved My Life’”.
This is essentially a solo album – with a lot of help. It was recorded at Bark Studios in Walthamstow by Brian O’Shaughnessy (Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Beth Orton), who had worked with Berridge on the last two Bromide albums. The album features drummer Fells Guilherme (Children of The Pope), bassist Ed ‘Cosmo’ Wright, multi-instrumentalists Dave Hale, Dimitri Ntontis and Stephen Elwell, as well as folk-pop chanteuse Katy Carr on piano and Terry Edwards (Nick Cave, Tom Waits, P.J.Harvey) on trumpet. Scottish singer Julie Anne McCambridge joins Simon on the closing track, the William Blake penned ‘Earth’s Answer’.
This is Berridge’s first output since Bromide’s ‘Ancient Rome’ and ‘I’ll Never Learn’ singles, both released in 2020. Their most recent album ‘I Woke Up’, with singles ‘Magic Coins’ and ‘Two Song Slot’, was met with popular acclaim, receiving positive reviews and airplay in dozens of countries.
Influenced equally by The Beatles, Neil Young, Mark Eitzel and Bob Mould, Simon Berridge creates ultra-catchy, jangly acoustic pop / electric rock. All songs are rooted in the acoustic guitar and then fleshed out with bass, drums, electric guitar and whatever seemed to fit the songs – hammond organ, piano, mellotron and brass.
Writing songs since he was 16, Simon Berridge has gone through many band line-ups in his decades-long music career with moods shifting a few times – from acoustic Neil Young-ish stuff to more full on Husker Du-style noise pop and back again. Since founding Bromide in 1996, the band has released six albums via London-based Scratchy Records.
“This album was born out of frequenting open mics and in particular the longest running wednesday night acoustic club in South-East London called ‘The Easycome’ – and it’s Monday night sing-a-round off-shoot at the Old Dispensary in Camberwell. Both run by the notorious ‘Andy Hankdog’, the club has seen many pass through its doors – David Gray, Florence (Welch) Machine, Shingai from the Noisettes and more recently The Fat White Family and a host of luminaries from the burgeoning ‘South-East London scene’ – Goat Girl, Pre-Goblin, Misty Miller,” says Simon Berridge.
“Playing at these nights has taught me a lot about playing at these nights! It’s introduced me to some fine musicians – a lot of whom ended up on the record – and it’s given me some of the most memorable nights of my life.”
As of October 15, Simon Bromide’s ‘The Waiting Room’ will be released everywhere digitally. His ‘Following The Moon’ LP will be released on November 19 on vinyl and digitally. The single can be pre-saved on Spotify and pre-ordered at https://smarturl.it/
SINGLE CREDITS
Written by Simon Berridge
Recorded at Bark Studios in Walthamstow by Brian O’Shaughnessy
Mastered by Jerome Schmitt at Airlab
Fells Guilherme – drums
Ed ‘Cosmo’ Wright – bass guitar
Simon Berridge – acoustic & electric guitars and vocals
Dave Hale – backing vocals and electric guitar
TRACK LIST
1. The Waiting Room
2. Chinua Achebe
3. The Skehans Song
4. Not That Type
5. The Argument
6. Slow Release Love
7. Following The Moon
8. Reflections of Seating
9. Earth’s Answer
Photos by Alastair Indge
“A febrile soul who can do pop in many voices” ~ Melody Maker
“Simon Berridge’s voice is as strong as ever, with the songwriter only gaining in sound and fury” ~ Clash Magazine
“This is catchy, upbeat, well-structured and impeccably delivered – with a winner of a debut release, Simon Bromide has our attention” ~ The Spill Magazine
“Romping, indie-pop blast“ ~ The Times
“Memorable slices of acoustic whimsy” ~ Q magazine
“Berridge has an ear for a canny tune and a keen lyrical eye for detail… Ray-Davies-meets-Lloyd-Cole crooning” ~ The Big Issue
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