Poor Performer - Like Yer Wounds Too

After the relative success of The Bitter Springs' last album, The Odd Shower, Simon Rivers promptly disbanded the long-running group and began recording his first solo album, Like Yer Wounds Too, under the name Poor Performer. As Jim Wirth wrote of a recent Bitter Springs reissue, "Weaving the messy threads of suburban life into dense tapestries, he has something of the Go-Betweens' gift for melody, something of Mark E Smith’s ear for language, something of Vic Godard’s common touch, and almost none of the acclaim that should have been his due."

This holds true for Poor Performer's debut album, though the songs seem based around a loose concept of issues dealing with middle-age self-reflection . . . though nothing nearly as navel-gazing as that statement might imply! Rivers: "For as long as I can remember, I've been either making records or planning to make them. But for once, this is a record I didn't really plan to make. The strange circumstances of the Covid lockdown led to its coming together.

1. Golden London Leaves

2. Kempton Park

3. Life U Chose

4. Hard To Be Happy

5. Lil' Bro

6. Sleepy Little Town

7. No Escape From Me And You

8. Right As Rain

9. The Point

10. Our Souls

11. The Frog's Tale

12. Can You Whistle?

13. Something's Gonna Kill Ya

EP Tracks:

1. The World Has Had Enough

2. Hard 2B Happy

3. For A While

4. Get Up Them Stairs

5. Daylight Robbery