"Keep It Simple" is the second single released from Delays' third studio album, Everything's the Rush. Like the previous single it was available for pre-order, came in three formats and was thus inegelible for UK chart entry. It was released on 11 August 2008.[1] The B-side of the single is a cover version of Neil Diamond's "Cherry Cherry".
| "Keep It Simple" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Delays | ||||
| from the album Everything's the Rush | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 11 August 2008 (CD) | |||
| Genre | Indie | |||
| Length | 4:11 | |||
| Label | Fiction Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | G Gilbert, A Gilbert | |||
| Delays singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video
editThe music video for the song stars Ewen Macintosh ("Keith" from the UK comedy series The Office) as an overweight man jogging through North-East London, the video cuts between him jogging and the band playing the song in a front yard. After a while the man walks into a fast food outlet and orders a large unhealthy meal and attempts to jog and eat at the same time, only to result in him having a heart attack and dying in the middle of the road.[1]
His spirit rises to heaven where angels shower him in fast food but after a while the angels turn into demons and begin hassling him. His spirit returns to his body and he wakes up with the fast food lying next to him. He takes a bite of the burger and walks off, much to the disapproval of the onlooking band.
In the making of the "Keep It Simple" video, keyboardist Aaron described the heaven/hell part as signifying that fast food is quite literally heaven and hell for you.[2]
Critical reception
editAn indieLondon review of the album stated that "Keep It Simple" "bounces shimmering piano hooks off crunching riffs and more strings to create another giddy treat."[3] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media thought that "Keep it Simple", along with two other tracks from the album sounded "like Pavlovian biscuits of phony populism".[4] Clash described it as an "epic heartbreak anthem" and "a melancholic salute to 60s pop in a way that only Delays can pull off".[5]
Track listing
edit- CD single
- "Keep It Simple"
- "Cherry Cherry"
References
edit- ^ a b Gregory, Jason (2008) "Office TV Star Suffers 'Heart Attack' Filming Delays Music Video", Gigwise.com, 26 June 2008, retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ "DELAYS - Keep It Simple (The Making Of)" on YouTube, retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ "Delays - Everything's The Rush", indieLondon, retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ Cohen, Ian (2008) "Delays Everything's The Rush", Pitchfork Media, May 28, 2008, retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ Murray, Robin (2008) "Delays to Release Single", Clash, 1 July 2008, retrieved 1 April 2010.