Simian Ghost
A Million Shining Colours
Playground Music

'Simian refers to the infra-order Simiiformes, the higher primates: the monkeys and the apes, including humans.' (Wikipedia)

The Simian Ghost trio hail from the small city of Sandviken, near Gävle, or a few miles North of Stockholm, where they've got their base camp today. "A Million Shining Colours" is the first single promoting Simian Ghost's next album, The Veil (due out in April). The single was released just before Christmas, on December 13th to be precise (Saint Lucy's day). Beach Boys-style harmonies and all. Summer started in December. Even here, up north! And, mind you, that's not due to the climate change issue...

Simian Ghost's debut album, Infinite Traffic Everywhere (2011) was released to very good response in their home-country (bringing them to the top of the critics' chart in Sweden), but it was their second go, Youth (2012) that saw the international press come, well, if not totally raving and drooling... at least they landed praise and acclaim (BBC, The Guardian, The Times, NME, Mojo, Daily Mirror, and others). For their third album the three-piece (Sebastian Arnström, Erik Klinga and Mathias Zachrisson) decided to work really intensely writing and recording the album, almost totally isolated from the world outside the band. '...working intensely all day, locked inside a small basement cellar with cheap microphones and lots of instruments and effect pedals. We have been working hard focusing on the album's format. Good songs are way cool, good records are even cooler,' according to Sebastian Arnström.

The Veil will hold 18 (!) songs, clocking in at over one hour. And, one of the 18 is the neat and catchy "A Million Shining Colours". It has already been praised in Sweden as being classic pop up the alley of Vampire Weekend and Tame Impala. "A Million..." is a pop gem, rooted in both 1960s Brit-pop and 1960s Am-pop/surf-pop. The Hollies meets The Beach Boys, tinted with the indie-pop fragrances and spices of modern times. Sugar-coated pop music for the summer seasons. No, in fact for all seasons. Snap. Sparkle. Pop. The Veil will unveil itself in April. To quote The Guardian: 'Simian Ghost's new single is an ode to coming to terms with wasting your life making music. But it's cheerier than that sounds. Sort of.'

Copyright © 2014 Håvard Oppøyen