On August 22nd, Simple Minded Symphony will be releasing their second album. To promote this album, the band released three videos for three singles, all on consecutive days, all this week. With the album coming out next week, I am more than hyped. The videos help tell the stories of the songs, but also, the songs are just really incredible. Having heard the album, I can also say that these three songs are not my three favorite songs. There is definitely no step down in quality between the singles and the full album.
The first video and single the band released this week was “Feather“. “Feather” is about struggling to break free from depression and the weight of the world and finding yourself again and remembering how to express yourself. It’s kind of a slower song, and the video features the band hanging out inside a cramped apartment while one member keeps trying to make a piece of art and throwing it away until they all come together to make something of it. Like many Simple Minded Symphony songs, this borders close to 6 minutes- which is extremely unusual for ska bands, but once you listen, I’m sure you’ll love it. The last half of the song is instrumental and the bass solo lasts almost a minute of that and is unforgettable. The horns at the end are the icing on the cake.
Then, on Tuesday, they released “Over It” which happens to be the intro song on the upcoming album. This song is the band’s closest thing to a third wave ska-punk song. The horns, the upstrokes on the guitar, and the bass in this song feel very familiar and somewhat reminiscent of bands like Mustard Plug. The biggest thing separating this from third wave ska punk is that Kevin- the lead singer- has a much better singing voice and actually sings the majority of the vocals. The video perfectly matches the song about friends falling out, and needing to put in the work to repair friendships and showing love for the people you care about. The video perfectly captures this from both friends’ perspective without making either look like the bad guy.
The third and final video released to promote the album was by far the most epic. “Overcast” is definitely one of the best songs from the album, and checks in at nearly 7 minutes long. The video, somehow, manages to outshine the song. This video is a 10 minute long mini movie with puppeteering, fun sets, and a great story of a band of adventurers fighting to try to save the court jester from their kingdom from Reginald- The Harbinger of Malice. The song itself is another song about mental health and fighting your demons, and not always winning. However, the true beauty of this song to me in the horns. Simple Minded Symphony has one of the best horn sections I’ve heard, and this song really highlights it at several points. The intro feels like a Danny Elfman soundtrack, creating a dark world for my imagination long before the vocals have a chance to tell me where I am going. The songwriting and performance is epic, and the video somehow manages to do it justice.
The self-titled album is available to pre-order here.
The album is released via Ska Punk International.
Written by Gimpleg