Bubblegum Lemonade - Where The Light Hits The Shade EP
Bubblegum Lemonade - Where The Light Hits The Shade EP
Fantastic first single from Bubblegum Lemonade’s forthcoming surf and shoegaze inspired album ‘To Surf With Love’—the album the band was born to make.
The album is full of fun percussion touches, as illustrated in the title track intro which uses stereo panning sampled scissors, percussive shaker, and muted guitar hits to create the unique rhythm. Combining jangling electric and 12-string acoustic guitars, the song features lead singer Laz and Strawberry Whiplash singer Sandra trading vocal lines, with Sandra’s sassy replies adding a nice dash of wit to the recording.
The first of two exclusive b-sides, ‘And Tomorrow Never Came’ is a fresh hit from the Bubblegum Factory with a deliberately extended intro designed to give each musical part a chance to shine before a successive part begins. In just 55 seconds, the intro takes you on a musical journey from The Byrds through The Cure and finally to a riff worthy of The Strokes.
Final track ‘In The Back of Her Memory’ is perhaps the first of nearly 200 Bubblegum Lemonade recordings that starts straight into the chorus—deliberately going for the pop jugular. Written after the album was finished, this slower and more reflective song features Sandra on multi-tracked backing vocals, while Laz plays the six string Rickenbacker guitar, the bass, and the drums all locking tightly together.
The 12-track album ‘To Surf With Love’ is on track for release later this year!
- Where The Light Hits The Shade
- And Tomorrow Never Came
- In The Back Of Her Memory
reviews
Bubblegum Lemonade is the exciting indie-pop solo project of Lawrence “Laz” McCluskey, based in Glasgow, Scotland. Since forming around 2007, Laz has cultivated a sound that fuses jangly 12-string Rickenbacker guitars with fuzzy, melodic hooks—anchored in the tradition of 1960s pop yet blooming with modern indie flair. Drawing inspiration from iconic bands like The Byrds, The Monkees, The Beach Boys, and The Jesus and Mary Chain, Bubblegum Lemonade channels a timeless “jangly indiepop” vibe filled with bright melodies and wistful undertones. A prolific artist on the Matinée Recordings label, Bubblegum Lemonade has released a string of great albums and singles. A new EP titled Where The Light Hits The Shade is out now, offering a glimpse into Laz’s evolving sound—surf-and-shoegaze-inspired textures, inventive percussion (even sampled scissors!), and playful vocal interplay with Sandra, the partner in his other project, Strawberry Whiplash. —Triste Sunset
The latest Bubblegum Lemonade release, the three-track EP titled Where The Light Hits The Shade, is out now on Matinée Recordings. The opening title track exudes an energy that blends elements of C86, the melodic twee pop of fellow Glaswegian the BMX Bandits, and the lush jangly indie pop of U.S. Highball. In contrast, the closing track, “In The Back of Her Memory,” enhances this musical foundation with male/female vocal harmonies that captivate the listener with their genuine sweetness and clinging sense of earworm. Nestled between the two is the standout track "And Tomorrow Never Came", which feels somewhat atypical for the McCluskey repertoire, particularly in this Bubblegum Lemonade guise. This track firmly embraces the dank, dulcet jangly guitar-pop characteristic of Dunedin Sound acts like The Clean, The Bats, and The Verlaines. Ultimately, it seems almost unfair that this act possesses such talent within such an aesthetic, enabling them to achieve a comparable brilliance so effortlessly. —Janglepophub
‘Where The Light Hits The Shade’ es el primer EP que se extrae de ‘To Surf With Love’, el próximo álbum de Bubblegum Lemonade, el proyecto musical de Laz, un extraordinario músico de Glasgow. El disco, publicado exclusivamente en digital, cuenta con tres canciones: la titular, que es el adelando del álbum, más dos temas exclusivos de este EP, ‘And Tomorrow Never Came” e “In The Back Of Her Memory”, dos preciosos temas de inspiración shoegaze y con luminosas melodías llenas de nostalgia y sensibilidad pop. Mi favorita: And Tomorrow Never Came. —El Planeta Amarillo
