Simian

by Andy KellmanPsychedelic pop experimentalists (with a heavy emphasis on the mental) Simian came into full fruition after James Ford, Alex MacNaughton, and James Shaw bumped into Simon Lord; after the trio heard Lord's compositions and vice versa, the four opted to work together under the name of Simian. Informed by and resembling experimental artists of the '60s like Silver Apples and the United States of America just as much as those of the current times, from Luke Vibert to the Beta Band, Simian debuted on the U.K.'s Source label in 2000 with the Watch It Glow EP. Another EP, The Wisp, was released a full year later, followed four months later by their acclaimed debut LP, Chemistry Is What We Are. Astralwerks picked up the head-scratcher of a record for release in the U.S. In late 2002, the group released We Are Your Friends, and early the following year they embarked on their first U.S. tour. Unfortunately, a third was not forthcoming, although Ford and Shaw later regrouped as the production act Simian Mobile Disco and released Attack Decay Sustain Release in 2007.