As beautiful as the 80's were for Simple Minds, you can't repeat the past. Singer Jim Kerr is aware of that. "But you can bring back the memory of it," says the 63-year-old in an interview with the German Press Agency in London.

"It works with certain sounds and a certain attitude." Said and done. On "Direction Of The Heart" the Scots successfully mix New Wave elements of their early years with a modern sound for the 2020s.

In the pandemic, Kerr has written an album rich in catchy tunes with his congenial songwriting partner and guitarist Charlie Burchill (62). "Vision Thing" features Burchill's atmospheric guitar playing between voluminous synthesizers. "Human Traffic" -- featuring guest vocalist Russell Mael of cult duo Sparks -- opens with a guitar riff that sticks. And the refrain is the best stadium rock to sing along to. Also wonderful is "Solstice Kiss", which is a bit of a ballad and a bit of a rock anthem.

Today the cast of Simple Minds consists of seven musicians. But due to the pandemic, Kerr and Burchill, who both live in Sicily, have done most of it alone. "We spent a lot more time together than usual," says Kerr. Burchill even programmed the drum machines on most of the tracks, which were initially only intended for the demos. "We wanted to add real drums later," says Kerr. Drummer Cherisse Osei only got involved on three tracks because the synth drum sound fitted so well.

"We wanted to make a feel-good album for the worst of times," says Kerr, adding that that might sound like a bit of an exaggeration. "But my generation didn't see any wars that we had to go through. That's why it was really the worst time for a lot of people." The Simple Minds frontman expressly excludes himself from this. "We're working in a bubble anyway. When we're working on an album, we don't do anything else. We had a bit of normality where others didn't."

The Simple Minds did just as well with the Feelgood album as they did with the connection between the past and the modern. Without the band running the risk of copying themselves, "Direction Of The Heart" is characterized by a sound that is atmospherically reminiscent of early, cool classics like "Love Song", "Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)" or "Glittering Prize". . A really strong late work.