The spectacular seventh album ‘To Surf With Love’ (matcd099) from Scottish favorites Bubblegum Lemonade is out now! Combining Surf’s Up-era Beach Boys with shoegaze, the album has a deliberate unified sound aesthetic and a narrative curve which documents a summer seaside relationship from beginning to end.
The band uses delayed guitars, crashing cymbals, and percussion tracks to emulate the sound and feel of the sea, which is central to the whole album. Consistent with most Bubblegum Lemonade releases, the album’s title is inspired by one of lead singer Laz’ favourite films—the 1967 drama ‘To Sir, With Love’—which co-stars fellow Glaswegian pop singer, Lulu. The idea of the new album was loosely inspired by the 1996 Eric Rohmer summer romp ‘A Summer’s Tale.’
Lead track ‘Moving To LA’ is a long-awaited fan favourite celebrating a fresh start for our protagonist with a tight backing track,12-string guitars, catchy glockenspiel, inventive percussion, and a ba-ba refrain. ‘Lost At Sea’ is a slower song with a morse code S.O.S played by the guitar in the intro signaling somebody falling in love out of their depth. Featuring bongos, a guitar refrain dripping with delay and reverb, and samples of seagulls recorded on Troon Beach in Scotland as the song fades out all adding to the seaside atmosphere of the album.
‘Filling Up On Sunshine’—the first ever pop song about filling up your electric car via solar power and driving to the seaside—exhibits late 1960s psychedelic production with Beach Boys vocals, stereo percussive toms, and a feedback strewn Velvet Underground climax; while ‘The Last Lighthouse’ slides into Stone Roses territory with knights of old, outlaws in the desert, sailors and seductive sirens.
‘Skin In The Game’ is the most shoegaze sounding track on the album with reverb-soaked guitars, fuzzy bass, and a hip hop drumbeat plus lovely backing vocals by Sandra of fellow Scots Strawberry Whiplash. ‘Snow In Summer’—inspired by elements of the ‘Eternal Sunshine’ film—includes layered vocals in the chorus representing the intercutting time periods within the film, percussion emulating a slow-moving train, and more backing vox from Sandra.
Side two of the album kicks off with ‘French Letters In The Sand’—one of two superb singles from the album—which fades in with our protagonist daydreaming and remembering the voice of his ex before the dream is punctured by descending surf guitars and a backing track moving between Motown and additional surf drums and guitars; while ‘Fall Back To June’ is the album’s big production number combining surf and shoegaze and a Le Creuset casserole dish as percussion.
‘Where The Light Hits The Shade’—another single—further illustrates the clever percussion touches on the album, with stereo panning sampled scissors, percussive shaker, and muted guitar hits to create a unique rhythm. Combining jangling electric and 12-string acoustic guitars, the song features Laz and Sandra trading vocal lines, with Sandra’s sassy replies adding a nice dash of wit to the recording. ‘Driftwood Sparks’—about being in over one’s head—started out as a ‘Surf’s Up’ mono instrumental until lyrics, Beach Boys vocal melodies, and musical embellishments were eventually added to the mix.
‘Not Going Back’ is sunshine pop with Byrds harmonies, surf guitars, and the album’s best drum track documenting the reality that there comes a time in some relationships when going back isn’t an option; while ‘Here Comes The Harbour Wave’ demonstrates just how to conclude an album, fading in slowly with shoegaze waves and backwards cymbals crashing on the rocks before building to a maelstrom of guitars, Velvet Underground percussive toms, cascading glockenspiel, and vocal harmonies.
‘To Surf With Love’ is the album that Bubblegum Lemonade were born to make, and the band considers this their best yet, by some distance. The album is available now in the Matinée shop, from our lovely distributor Darla Records, and on all major streaming services. Ask your local record shop for a copy!
Plenty of the previous Bubblegum Lemonade albums and singles are still available, so you may want to add some to your cart before they sell out. Please see the Bubblegum Lemonade artist page for details. Soundtrack your shopping trip with a listen to our ‘To Surf With Love’ sampler: