★★★★☆
“It’s about getting you to actually hear something in a new way. It’s about making music that sounds old and new at the same time; music with a sense of mystery.”
If any other artist had said this, you would be forgiven for thinking it was just wishful boasting. But when Paul Simon says it of his new album Stranger To Stranger, you sit up and take note.
With 13th solo album and the first since 2011’s So Beautiful Or So What, Simon once again proves he’s still at his best, and has been so for over 30 years. He’s even managed to remake his classic sound into something fresh and new. Opener ‘The Werewolf’ and first single ‘Wristband’ exemplify this immediately, using a strong beat of claps with tribal and carnival drums, and giving a new pulse to Simon’s constantly relevant lyrical messages. ‘Wristband’ could easily become the protest song for the Keep Sydney Open movement.
‘Proof Of Love’ and ‘The Riverbank’ add guitar melodies that tickle you in all the right places, and while ‘Street Angel’ and ‘Stranger To Stranger’ darken the mood somewhat, it wouldn’t be Paul Simon without a little bit of beautiful melancholy.
Stranger To Stranger is a wonderful album and a relevant message from an old-school musician’s youthful heart.
