Releases his new album
Artwork by Andrew Wyatt
– Release Date: 8th May –
Genre: Indie, Alternative, Singer-Songwriter, Americana
FFO: The Kinks, Elvis Costello, Peter Perrett, Boo Radleys, Sports Team, Bob Geldof
Label / Imprint: Scratchy Records
Format: Digital / Vinyl album
“From the first sparkling chords, this draws you into Simon Bromide’s world where the ghosts of Johnny Marr, Peter Perrett & XTC joust with the psychedelic sounds & neo-folk herein” 9/10 Vive Le Rock
“Byrdsian lustre, psychedelic haze, far-flung exotica, gritty northern soul & Kinksy visions of London life” 8/10 Classic Rock
“Lyrically smart, musically lush, loose & luxuriant… one of the best new singer/songwriters you’ve never heard-of, until now” Louder Than War
“Absolutely divine… characterised by Bromide’s customary ear for a delightful melody, it just floats along on a sea of sweetness & light” godisinthetv
“60s/’70s-inspired, Teenage Fanclub folk-pop meets lighter Bevis Frond psych-rock, led by easy-going, Ray Davies-hued vocals” Big Takeover
“Confident, well-played indie-pop songs… quintessentially English indeed” Shindig! Mag
South London singer-songwriter Simon Bromide returns with a new album Forest Mountain Forest, continuing on from 2021’s highly praised album Following the Moon. This time there’s a new moniker, Simon Bromide & The Bromides to reflect a more established band lineup for the recording, with Ed ‘Cosmo’ Wright returning for bass duty, Sam Kelly on drums (son of famous 60s ‘blueser’ Dave Kelly), Ollie Parfitt on keys and Simon on acoustic & electric guitars. Brian O‘Shaughnessy, whose production credits include Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Denim & Beth Orton was once again on production duties at Bark Studios where Forest Mountain Forest was recorded.
The name might have changed but the touchpoints are similar – Teenage Fanclub / Big Star, The Bevis Frond, Silver Jews & Mark Eitzel. With Simon’s individual track descriptions below, Forest Mountain Forest is essentially another of his fanboy scrapbooks. “Ever since I saw a black & white image of The Beatles on my mum’s tv in 1976 I’ve been hooked by this thing called pop music” explains Simon, “I’ve been devoured by it. It informs pretty much every moment of every waking day in one way or another and writing & performing songs has become a lifelong pursuit”.
Now a little history… after several band lineups in his early music career, Simon was working at a publishing company when a work colleague introduced him to a whole world of alternative acts like Sonic Youth, Husker Du, Patti Smith, The Replacements, Television, Richard Hell, American Music Club & Mark EItzel, Red House Painters, Ya La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr and many others. Around this time the name Bromide appeared after he put his own name ‘Simon Berridge’, into a word scrambler on someone’s computer & out popped ‘singer bromide’. Then, after learning that Patti Smith had self-released her own debut single (a cover of Hey Joe), Simon decided to do the same, forming Scratchy Records and releasing his debut album Iscariot Heart back in the late nineties.
Releases from other artists on the label like South London’s The Rocks, SLEAZE and Hank Dogs plus US artist Coach Hop helped to establish it, while Simon himself has consistently released his own work on the label throughout.
Alongside this latest album release, Simon Bromide and the Bromides will be doing a series of gigs to promote the release throughout London, Southampton, Swindon, Newport & Hastings with other gigs to follow. Be sure to check in on their socials for further updates & gig announcements.
Track Descriptions (by the artist):
- Leonard’s Chair
Describes the feeling of a song coming to life. You haven’t necessarily got the words yet, you might not even have the chorus, but you know it has to come out, so you just play it to see where it goes. This particular song came to life at the Monday night ‘singaround’ jam at the Old Dispensary in Camberwell where we sit round on sofas in the front window playing loads of folk, americana, rock, rock’n’roll, whatever anyone’s got. You can play your own stuff as well and the atmosphere is primed for new songs to spring into life – just like this one! The night is hosted by Andy Hank Dog who also sings backing vocals on the track along with Piney Gir, one of Noel Gallagher’s ‘Roxy’ backing singers. - Forest Mountain Forest
This one popped out when I was jamming another song with a friend. The riff immediately reminded me of a Replacements track Can’t Hardly Wait but it was just that little bit different… different enough to claim it as my own. The lyrics are pretty self-explanatory if you substitute the title with the words ‘Birth Life Death’. More sweet backing vocals from Piney Gir. - Sing To Forget
Why do we sing? Maybe one of the reasons is to get lost in the moment – to forget we’re alive for a few minutes and block out the ticking clock. It’s also a nod to my friend Jay Fisher aka Apple Rabbits, as he quite often sings spontaneous words rather than set lyrics. Vivienne Soan weaved in delicious sax and Dave Hale added soulful BVs. - Jean-Luc Godard Directs
This one’s a bit more complex in that it weaves together several contrasting experiences into a narrative based on the book The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. The book famously inspired Mick Jagger’s song Sympathy for The Devil and asks the key question: “What would your good be doing if there were no evil, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it?” I was also fascinated by Jean-Luc Godard’s footage of the Stones working up the song in the studio in his film One Plus One, so that’s in there as well. There’s a lot going on… and I guess that’s another fun thing about writing ‘pop songs’ – you can tie lots of random ideas together in a relatively short space of time without having to explain anything!! Until that is, your PR asks you to write a few notes on what your songs are about. Cough. BVs are from Piney Gir, Dave Hale and Andy Hank Dog. - Clouds
That magic moment when you’re sat by the window and twenty minutes later you’ll never forget the view from that window or those twenty minutes. Nature has all the answers and sometimes she’ll let you have a quick glimpse. Luckily I knew where to find a bit of paper to catch it. - Not Over Yet
About imagining that you’re in fact dead but an angel gives you the opportunity to live your life again and not make some of the terrible mistakes you did first time round. It’s also a rip-off of that Queen song with the hoovering. Sorry, I meant ‘a subconscious inspiration’. - Carlito’s Way
This song appeared perhaps twenty years ago… but without a chorus. It then sat patiently on a bit of paper. Waiting. Then a few years ago in lockdown a simple chord change revealed the chorus and the song’s patience was rewarded. It’s a bit like not being able to remember the name of a film or book or something. You squeeze your brain, frantically checking all the cupboards but they’re all locked or empty. Then later that day while you’re doing nothing in particular the title slips casually into your head. Fellow scratchy recorder Alvine Spetz cooked up some horns to go with and Katy Carr added BVs. - Song For Elon Musk
I don’t often write ‘environmental’ type songs but this one is definitely an appeal of some kind and it could be to anyone who might be in a position to do something about the state of our planet. So that means it’s as much an appeal to myself as it is to Elon Musk. In this particular scenario Elon is the child and his mother (The Earth), is saying to him “Tidy your room first, Elon. Then you can go off into space and play”. I remember when Anna Masic came up to the studio to record her vocal part, she said at the end of the take that she’d been ‘channelling wounded earth mother vibes’ – whatever it was she was doing her vocals sound amazing! Vivienne Soan added sax and Reny Barrancos congas. - Eventide
I was in the studio working on the track ‘We’re All Here’ with multi-talented muso Dmitri Ntontis when we realised we had about half an hour free before he had to go. I’d just written this tune and it didn’t immediately call out for lyrics so we just put it down then and there with Dmitri on piano and then adding bass. Some things are quick. Some things aren’t – the aforementioned We’re All Here emerged gradually over a period of two and a half years!! The song will always go at it’s own speed. - We’re All Here
Inspired by a sample of Tony Bennett recalling Ella Fitzgerald‘s famous response to racism with a simple yet transcendent message of unity and equality. Features trumpet from the legendary Terry Edwards (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Robyn Hitchcock) and BVs from Anna Masic, Dave Hale and Katy Carr. To tie everything back to the album opener ‘Leonard’s Chair’, the song is also a tribute to the Monday night ‘singaround’ jam in the sense that the magic, when it comes isn’t from any one person, it’s from the mix of all the random people there. We need eachother to make it work. As regular Monday jammer Jason Umbrellabird says “However the jam goes it blows away the cobwebs with the power of musically driven endorphins”.
Upcoming Shows:
February 28th – Trash Night / Endeavour – Deptford / South London (acoustic)
March 7th – Trash Night / Biddle Bros – Clapton / South London (acoustic)
March 21st – Trash Night / Endeavour – Deptford / South London (full band)
April 4th – Water Into Beer – Brockley / South London (acoustic)
April 10th – The Beehive (w/ Dulcet Tones) – Swindon (acoustic)
May 8th – Dash the Henge (instore) – Peckham / South London (full band)
May 9th – Scratchstock / Old Dispensary – Camberwell / South London (full band)
May 16th – The Old Mill – Plumstead / South London – (full band)
Connect with Simon Bromide / Scratchy Records
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Photo Credit: Peter Tainsh
Photo Credit: Ant Bradbury
Photo Credit: Alistair Indge