"Carnival" is a song by Swedish band

the Cardigans The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden in 1992. The main lineup of the band consisted of guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead sing ...

. It was released in March 1995 by Trampolene and

Stockholm Records Stockholm Records is a Swedish subsidiary of Universal Music Group, founded in 1992, and known for signing musicians such as Army of Lovers and E-Type. Overview The boutique label was originally launched in 1992 as an independent record compa ...

as the first single from their second album, ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' (1995). The song gave the group their first appearance on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 72 in June 1995. After their next single, a re-issue of " Sick & Tired", reached the top 40, "Carnival" was re-pressed and reached a peak of number 35. This release also peaked at number 44 in the Netherlands, becoming the band's first single to chart there. The accompanying music video was directed by Swedish-based director

Matt Broadley Matt Broadley is a Swedish director. He has made music videos for several songs that went #1 on the charts, like "All That She Wants" and " Mr. Vain". Career Broadley has directed many TV commercials and music videos. His clients include: * A ...

. "Carnival" was the first released material by the Cardigans on which

Nina Persson Nina Elisabet Persson (; born 6 September 1974) is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish rock band The Cardigans. She also has worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and one under her own name, and has appeared as a guest ...

received a writing credit, on this occasion alongside bassist Magnus Svenningsson whom she would later supersede as the group's primary lyricist. The song concerns the narrator's unrequited love for a boy, and mentions a "carnival" (the description actually appears to refer to a funfair) which the narrator would like to attend with the boy but does not go because he never responds to her. The single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s are a cover of

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

's "

Mr Crowley "Mr. Crowley" is a song by English heavy metal music, heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, about English occultist Aleister Crowley. Written by Osbourne, guitarist Randy Rhoads and bass guitarist/lyricist Bob Daisley, it was released on Osbourne's d ...

", one of several Osbourne and Black Sabbath cover versions released by the group; and "Emmerdale", an instrumental which shared its name with their previous album, but did not appear on it.

Critical reception

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

for ''

Dotmusic ''Dotmusic'' was a music webzine that existed as a standalone website from 1 June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine ''Music Week'', the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a ...

'' wrote, "It's in a similar vein to their last hit; light, almost fluffy

jazz-pop Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

that sounds gorgeous but is unlikely to bring them a major hit just yet." Holly Hernandez from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' noted its "frothy stimulation". John Mulvey from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' said the song "is blessed with a budget-flight-down-to-Rio bubbliness — imagine

The Sugarcubes The Sugarcubes () were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk Guðmundsdóttir (vocals, keyboards), Einar Örn Benediktsson (vocals, trumpe ...

playing

Swing Out Sister Swing Out Sister are a British pop band, best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include " Surrender", " You On My Mind", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the ...

's greatest hits — that makes it oddly irresistible. Also, it shames me to report, the xylophone solo is pretty damned smart." Another ''NME'' editor,

Mark Beaumont Mark Beaumont may refer to: * Mark Beaumont (cyclist) (born 1983), English cyclist born in Swindon, adventurer, broadcaster, documentary maker and author * Mark Beaumont (journalist) (born 1972), English music journalist {{hndis, Beaumont, M ...

, found that it "takes a vibe-surfing bus tour around Parisian tourist spots". Mark Sutherland from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave "Carnival" a top score of five out of five and named it Best New Single, writing, "...they've just written the perfect pop song. Xylophones and guitars tinkle merrily, Nina coos ''Come on and love me now'', every male on the planet goes ''Oh, alright then'', and the whole world thinks ''Sod school/work for a game of soldiers'' and nips off to the coast for a bossa nova beach party. Last one in's a rotten egg!"

Track listing

* International CD single (1995) # "Carnival" – 3:20 # "Mr Crowley" – 2:35 # "Emmerdale" – 2:25

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles 1995 songs The Cardigans songs Music videos directed by Matt Broadley Polydor Records singles Songs written by Magnus Sveningsson Songs written by Nina Persson Songs written by Peter Svensson Stockholm Records singles