Simpatico is the ninth studio album by British rock band the Charlatans, released on 17 April 2006 through Creole and Sanctuary Records.

After signing to the latter label in early 2005, frontman Tim Burgess and guitarist Mark Collins went to Palm Springs, California, to write new material.

With Jim Lowe and the band producing, recording was held at Hook End Manor in Oxfordshire, with overdubs later being done at Townhouse Studios in London.

Bassist Martin Blunt and Burgess attributed the sound shift to them listening to Ken Boothe, Gregory Isaacs, and Studio One.

[22] AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine found that the "relaxed, natural rhythmic interplay" throughout the album makes it work as a "party record, or stylish background music.

"[20] Cokemachineglow writer David M. Goldstein said that its "dub-influenced riddims aren't such a significant departure from the baggy dance-pop that the Charlies originally made their name on".

[9] Burgess said he came across the word while reading a book in which Keith Richards describes the relationship of his band, the Rolling Stones, with their producer, Jimmy Miller.

[24] Burgess said he rewrote the words to the opening track, "Blackened Blue Eyes", shortly after it was picked to be released as a single, as he thought the original lyrics were not as good as he hoped they could be.

[26] Goldstein said it started with a "sinister piano riff exploding into seedy wah-wah guitar stabs and a driving back beat".

[23] The track evolved out of separate piano and bass parts that Rogers and Blunt, respectively, had written; the former came up with the title phrase, which Burgess wrote his lyrics around.

[45] Goldstein said it had a haunting theremin part, "icy electric piano, and a lithe bassline containing more pop than those which precede it, but its still more Matisyahu than Lee Perry.

[48] Shortly before the Charlatans had presented the final version of the album to Sanctuary Records, A&R representative John Williams, who had signed the band to the label, quit his role.

[49] By the end of the month, the album's track listing was posted online; demos of "Dead Man's Eye" and "Road to Paradise", as well as videos from the sessions, were made available on the band's website.

[50] In March 2006, the band appeared at the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas,[51] where they met former Creation Records owner Alan McGee.

[58] A remix of "NYC (There's No Need to Stop)" was posted on the band's website at the end of the month as part of an online fan club.

Two versions were released on CD: the first with "Carry Your Heart", while the second included "Hard to Be You (Song for Carl)" and "Bullet of Freedom" as its B-sides, alongside the music video for "NYC (There's No Need to Stop)".

[67] Erlewine wrote that the band's "conscious decision to emphasize groove and group interaction [...] pays off to a certain extent at least", though upon "close listening, it's not as compelling [as other albums], which is all due to the emphasis of sound over song.

writer Rob Bolton noted that while there were "plenty of classic Charlatans songs, [...] something just doesn't seem to click", mentioning that it was "unlikely [that] this will catch on with first-timers.

"[70] Paul Mardles of The Observer felt that "[p]redictably, it's not among the quintet's finest hours", and while there were "glimpses of the highs of which they're capable, [...] Simpatico makes your cheeks turn red on the band's behalf.

"[68] The Guardian's Leonie Cooper wrote that when the band stepped away from their usual sound, it was a "refreshing change, but not vital enough to prove that the group are worthy of any type of adulation.

Goldstein said that the majority of the "attempts here at reggae suffer not because these guys are incapable of skank, but rather from a seeming lack of conviction", as too frequently it sounded as if the band was conveying the "bare minimum to get these songs across, when they really should be getting freaky.

"[23] Pitchfork contributor Stuart Berman wrote that they "sound like they'd prefer to sit on their asses and listen to dub records all day."

[51] musicOMH contributor John Murphy thought the musical style change was an "interesting move, but one that’s not wholly successful", as several of the tracks "feel stale and uninspired".

Launch thought that the band "sound[ed] monumentally bored", with the "clues to their waning enthusiasm com[ing] as early as the opening track."