Ghost Town Jenny are something of a globe-hopping phenomenon. Originally starting out as the solo project of singer / songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Kim Kylland, who was born in Oakland, California, but grew up between both there and Norway, due to having a Norwegian father. She then spent time in Dublin, Ireland and travelling through Europe "with just a guitar and a backpack", attended school in Japan, and eventually moved to Reykjavik, Iceland.
Then while at Roskilde Music Festival in Denmark in 2007, she met Swede Johan Svensson, who would later become her synth-playing bandmate and co-writer. Eventually settling back in Northern California, the band line-up was completed with Bay Area musicians, Corey Christopher Mike (violin) and Dominic Mercurio (drums), and the quartet released their debut EP 'The Swan' in 2011.
Taking their name from an old photo Kim came across depicting an elderly woman sitting in a rocking chair that bore the inscription "Ghost Town Jenny", the band's music - loosely folk electronica - and style - quirky - has been compared likened to Florence & The Machine and Bjork - and with just one track and newly released video to accompany it, 'Lights', above, it's easy to see why. Influences such as Nick Cave can be heard on 'See You In Eternity' from their last EP 'Golden Hour', and the emotive title track pays its dues to Joni Mitchell. On all, it is Kim's captivating vocal that draw the listener in as she ripples the scales with violin and piano in partnership.
Look out for Ghost Town Jenny in 2015 when their first full-length is to appear.
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