Catalog Number: JR33LP Format: LP UPC: 198846278667 Formerly known as GIRL SKIN, Simons has created a stunning nine-track project that both revels in contradiction and effortlessly fits together like an intricate jigsaw puzzle. Simons' sophomore album reflects his multicultural upbringing. Based in Brooklyn, Simons is technically a citizen of the world. Born in Portland and raised in Australia, Simons later moved to New York and later attended high school in Shanghai before moving back to New York by himself to pursue music. Initially, Simons played in rotating band lineups under the now-defunct GIRL SKIN, a moniker for releasing music that Simons wrote and produced in his parents' basement and bedrooms. Today, performing under his own name, Simons has gathered a magnetic and poetic collection of songs together with the help of a backing band and superproducer Gordon Raphael. Best known for producing the Strokes' debut EP The Modern Age, as well as their first two landmark albums, This Is It and Room On Fire, Raphael was a natural fit to work with Simons, who draws sonic influence from the early-aughts rock revival group, plus their rowdy UK counterpart the Libertines, classic-rock shapeshifter David Bowie, and strains of Motown and Americana. Raphael flew in from his homebase in the UK to work with Simons, and together they fleshed out what would become Beneath The Brightest Smiles at Mercy Sound Recording Studios in the East Village.