Simian Ghost - Lovelorn

‘Lovelorn’ is an EP full of potentially mega hooks that are half hidden and obscured beneath the fumes and fuzzy dirge. Possibly the most overused word since forever, chillwave has come to describe music of massive hype and very average quality, and is also a very apt genre for the music Simian Ghost has put before us. ‘Lovelorn’ is indeed quite good, but nothing particularly sets it apart from the throngs of fellow producers vying for a glimpse of the spotlight.

Opening with more style than a pair of glittery red platform boots, ‘Free Agent’ is an upbeat, gaudy, and confident dance track. Occupying a niche somewhere between the Bee Gees and Hot Chip, there is also a distinct lack of the wishy-washy-ness which plagues majority of the EP. The usually dreaded ‘hazy production’ is put to great use on this track, and the fading makes it feels like Simian Ghost is dunking his synthesisers in and out water tanks, although with far fewer dangerous repercussions and health and safety concerns. With such a strong start, the rest of ‘Lovelorn’ does feel like a bit of a disappointment.

‘Lovelorn’ is lovingly put together– you can hear in the rich textures that this EP was produced by someone who really cares about creating an end product people will enjoy. Therein perhaps lies the problem. Where Simian Ghost shines is not in the skittering beats and suffocating layers of ‘chillwave esque’ effects – anyone can potter into Urban Outfitters and find hundreds of carbon-copy band’s CDs for sale, chockablock with this. ‘Lovelorn’ is most enjoyable in tracks like ‘Free Agent’ and ‘Bicycle Theme’; the ones that are a little more off-kilt. This is only a debut effort, and if Simian Ghost can resist indie peer pressure, his next release will be far less average.