Video: Sylvie Simmons – “The Thing They Don’t Tell You About Girls”

Video by Ryan Sarnowski. From Blue on Blue, out now on Compass.

Sylvie Simmons is a writer for Mojo and author of the definitive biography of Leonard Cohen, I’m Your Man (Harper Collins, 2012) and recently helped Debbie Harry write her memoir, Face It (Dey Street, 2019). She also plays the ukulele and writes gentle little songs that might sneak up on you and break your heart.

A few years ago her song “Hard Act to Follow,” originally released on her self-title debut (Light in the Attic, 2014), was featured in a Nicky Hornby movie. Which makes sense. Another author who is obsessed with music…

She told Pop Matters, “You shouldn’t make an album if you’re a music journalist and don’t use ukulele to do it. I was expecting to be quite humiliated, and it was quite the opposite. It was an absolute wonder to me.”

Now Simmons has released her follow up, Blue On Blue. Once again produced by Howe Gelb, the recording sessions were interrupted by a debilitating accident that ultimately required her to alter her ukulele style. “There were songs that took a lot more movement of my hand than I was able to do. But they’ll be on the next album.”

Simmons describes her new single as “a sad song that came out sounding happy. Songs do that sometimes; they have no respect for the people that write them.”

Sounds like the song turned out just the way it was supposed to!

Sylvie Simmons: web, twitter, bandcampamazon, apple, spotify, wiki.

Video: Sylvie Simmons – “Sweet California”

Video by Matej Kolmanko. From Blue on Blue, out now on Compass.