"Keep It Simple" is the second single released from

Delays Delays are an English indie rock, indie band formed in Southampton, which consisted of brothers Greg and Aaron Gilbert, Colin Fox and Rowly until Greg Gilbert's death in 2021. The band's sound combines guitar and synths and featured Greg Gilbe ...

' third studio album, ''

Everything's the Rush ''Everything's the Rush'' is the third studio album by British rock band Delays. It was released on 5 May 2008 through Fiction and Polydor Records. As touring in promotion for their second studio album '' You See Colours'' wrapped up in 2006, t ...

''. Like the previous single it was available for pre-order, came in three formats and was thus inegelible for UK chart entry. It was released on 11 August 2008.Gregory, Jason (2008)
Office TV Star Suffers 'Heart Attack' Filming Delays Music Video
,

Gigwise.com ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...

, 26 June 2008, retrieved 1 April 2010. The B-side of the single is a cover version of

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

's "Cherry Cherry".

Music video

The music video for the song stars Ewen Macintosh ("Keith" from the UK comedy series '' The Office'') as an overweight man jogging through North-East London, the video cuts between him jogging and the band playing the song in a front yard. After a while the man walks into a fast food outlet and orders a large unhealthy meal and attempts to jog and eat at the same time, only to result in him having a heart attack and dying in the middle of the road. His spirit rises to heaven where angels shower him in fast food but after a while the angels turn into demons and begin hassling him. His spirit returns to his body and he wakes up with the fast food lying next to him. He takes a bite of the burger and walks off, much to the disapproval of the onlooking band. In the making of the "Keep It Simple" video, keyboardist Aaron described the heaven/hell part as signifying that fast food is quite literally heaven and hell for you., retrieved 1 April 2010.

Critical reception

An indieLondon review of the album stated that "Keep It Simple" "bounces shimmering piano hooks off crunching riffs and more strings to create another giddy treat."Delays - Everything's The Rush
, indieLondon, retrieved 1 April 2010. Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media thought that "Keep it Simple", along with two other tracks from the album sounded "like Pavlovian biscuits of phony populism".Cohen, Ian (2008)
Delays ''Everything's The Rush''
, Pitchfork Media, May 28, 2008, retrieved 1 April 2010. '' Clash'' described it as an "epic heartbreak anthem" and "a melancholic salute to 60s pop in a way that only Delays can pull off".Murray, Robin (2008)
Delays to Release Single
, '' Clash'', 1 July 2008, retrieved 1 April 2010.

Track listing

;CD single #"Keep It Simple" #"Cherry Cherry"

References

{{authority control Delays songs 2008 singles 2008 songs Fiction Records singles