Ocelot (Finland) – Prinssi/Pikkuveli (single/future album track)

Generally speaking I find Finnish music to be pretty deep; what you’d expect from a country dubbed as the ‘happiest in the world’ but in which many suffer from depression, too. Oxymorons abound.

Hence, you don’t often find light hearted pop ditties and the really weird stuff is left for their Eurovision songs.

Ocelot has twice before appeared in these pages and they don’t shirk in the depth department. The first time, the song concerned butterflies and the second a character who was never casted in a fantasy film about a life that remains tantalisingly out of reach.

Somehow, I can’t imagine ‘Agadoo’ charting in Finland.

This latest single, ‘Prinssi/Pikkuveli (‘Prince/Little brother’) – nothing to do with the ex Norwich City striker and that was Pukki anyway – was inspired by founder member Emilia Pennanen’s experience at a music conference when she was 19 and an archetypal character she experienced there and has done so on and off ever since.

While the suggestion is that he keeps showing up like a bad penny, I don’t think there’s anything sinister in it and because it’s in Finnish and I only know one word of that language, kiitos, I don’t know either if it is a character assassination.

So what can I say about it? It is a simple, straightforward piece of alt piano pop with shades of both The Beatles and Thunderclap Newman, discordant melody interjections ‘n all.

It jogs along merrily, jauntily and danceably until about two-thirds of the way through at which point is begins its ascent into full blow scarf waving anthem.

Not quite a tale of two halves but representative of Pukki’s scoring record for Norwich versus the one for Finland.

And the vocal is that same beguiling one of Emilia’s that I’ve remarked on before; one that suggests she’s ever so slightly bonkers.

Give it a try, you’ll love it.

Ocelot’s second full length album release, the intriguingly titled ‘Siskoni on noita’ (‘My sister is a witch’) will be releases via Soliti on 20th September 2024.

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