The Arousing

'Going it Alone'

Kerri Simpson is anything but suburban. Her latest album, The Arousing, is a remarkable piece of work which deserves wide recognition. Sheer strength and moodiness of voice combined with the sometimes chillingly sparse arrangements supplied by her band, Veve, Simpson moans, wails, growls and croons her way through 13 moody, dark and pain soaked compositions, successfully mixing in musical references seemingly culled from as far afield as the dangerously mystical Louisiana swamp, and the menacing topography of spaghetti western badlands.

If Patti Smith, circa Horses, and Lydia Lunch, circa Some Velvet Morning, had ever got together with a bottle of bourbon and a tape deck, something like The Arousing might have been the result. They never did, however, so it's a good job Ms Simpson eventually got around to doing it. Wonderful stuff.

Andrew Masterson
The Age Entertainment Guide, 23rd June, 1995.