Simplify

At a time when technology is turning human beings into human ‘doings’ in a relentless struggle for power and money, it is noble that musicians such as Bob Hillary feel compelled to highlight another way. However, while extolling the kind of Buddhist philosophy that once inspired a generational revolution, his third album Simplify, feels a little passé.
Songs like ‘Take the Power Back’ and ‘C’mon Leave it Now' demonstrate Hillary's skill at stringing together passable folk tunes that are affable, if not memorable. Beyond some catchy whistling refrains, however, Simplify is an album of indistinguishable acoustic guitar rifts coupled with the sort of trite insights that wouldn't feel out of place at a beginner's yoga class. Yogic theology, incidentally, appears to be the closest the album gets to world music influences.
While the concept and message come from a deeply personal place, with Hillary having been forced to rethink his own life following illness, what could have contained a powerful intimacy is sadly lost in translation. What's left are good intentions that fall far short of the social change Hillary set out to affect. Unfortunately, at best Simplify is pleasant musical wallpaper.