Bubblegum Lemonade - Beard On A Bike EP

matinée 093  /  July 2016
Bubblegum Lemonade - Beard On A Bike EP
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Bubblegum Lemonade - Beard On A Bike EP

matinée 093  /  July 2016

Smashing new EP from popular Glasgow band Bubblegum Lemonade! Lead track ‘Beard On A Bike’ goes straight for the pop jugular with an instantly catchy tale of a psychopath on a cycle path. The song is a preview of the band’s forthcoming album ‘The Great Leap Backward’ set for release later this year.

The EP also features three non-album tracks exclusive to this release. ‘Golden Afternoon’ is a mid tempo song with a baggy rhythm and ace 12-string Rickenbacker guitars, while ‘Saturday Girl’ is an effervescent ode to weekend warriors with racing guitars and ‘Looking Out For You’ is a poignant late night tale showcasing superb harmonies and jangling guitars.

Limited to 1000 copies in custom minijacket sleeve, ‘Beard On A Bike’ is essential Scottish pop for your summer playlist and another absolute gem for the Matinée discography.

Tracklisting:
  1. Beard On A Bike
  2. Golden Afternoon
  3. Saturday Girl
  4. Looking Out For You

reviews

A lot of rubbish is written about pop perfection and here's some more of it. Bubblegum Lemonade are just as reverential as Helen Love and any stray legion of Japanese pop-strop merchants, but Bubblegum Lemonade are from the more reflective, swaying and shimmering side of the equation and "Beard On A Bike" may only be the press lead in track for the "Beard On A Bike" EP which is a lead in for the autumn release of "The Great Leap Backward" album, but it is pop perfection. Might be worth pointing out that Bubblegum Lemonade go for the country tinged, early Dave Edmunds take on 'pop', but you could tell that from the bubble-popping bass, the twang and the fabulously undersold lead vocal. This is gold, dig it.   --Unpeeled
 
Admit it. The past few years have felt like life has been slowly losing its flavor like a piece of old gum. Glasgow band Bubblegum Lemonade haven't had a long player since 2013. Coincidence? While you chew on that, I'll happily pass on the news from Matinée Recordings that we are, indeed, expecting new album 'The Great Leap Backward' later this year. In the meantime, to whet your appetite, the indie-pop stalwart presents the four-track EP "Beard on a Bike." Watch out for this two-wheeled weirdo. He's crazy. "Beard on a Bike" will be included on the new album, but the other three tracks are exclusive to this CD. So pedal over to the Matinée site and preorder it right now because that's where they are peddling it. The return of Laz's Rickenbacker will have you poppin' wheelies and dreaming of warm summer days. If you know Laz from Strawberry Whiplash, a band that made my year-end top 10 albums list just six short months ago, I would rank "Beard on a Bike" right up there with "Stop, Look and Listen" as his best single in the rack. Certainly not a lot of coasting from Laz these days.   --Linear Tracking Lives
 
Today is the birthday of Laz McCluskey, a Glasgow musician and songwriter who records and performs under the name Bubblegum Lemonade, as well as part of the duo Strawberry Whiplash. Making his week even more special is his upcoming Bubblegum Lemonade EP, Beard On A Bike. The EP features four songs of bubblegum pop, with jangle, plenty of reverb and a dose of western twang. Touchstones are early Primal Scream, The Jesus And Mary Chain and a number of your favorite '60s bands. The title track is a jaunty tale of a psychopath on a bike path -- happy dreams! The tempo slows for the Rickenbacker-driven "Golden Afternoon". "Saturday Girl" is an upbeat jangle pop joy, and "Looking Out For You" ends the EP with a warm, '60s-infused tug on your heartstrings. We assure you, Bubblegum Lemonade is both our favorite flavor of gum and our favorite brand of lemonade, it is that good! "Beard On A Bike" will be on Bubblegum Lemonade's next album, The Great Leap Backward, which will be out later this year. But you'll need to buy this record to get the other three songs, and you can do so either as a digital download or CD via Matinée Recordings.   --When You Motor Away
 
Bubblegum Lemonade are no stranger to these pages, though it’s been a while since we’ve heard from the group. There’s something that the group have perfected, be it the casual ring of the guitars or the balanced approach between every note; it’s sincere pop music that’s absolutely inescapable. Press play and you’ll hear a song that transfers you back to the days of the purity of pop music…no little tactics, no little twists, just the best songwriting you’ll hear this week (in my opinion). They’ll be releasing their ‘Beard on a Bike’ EP on July 1st via the highly esteemed Matinée Recordings.   --Austin Town Hall
 
Non smette certo di divertirsi e, dunque, di fare musica Lawrence ‘Laz’ McCluskey, che continua anzi a saltabeccare tra le sue due band parallele, Strawberry Whiplash e Bubblegum Lemonade, differenziate quasi soltanto dalla voce che ne guida le canzoni. Nel caso di Bubblegum Lemonade è lui stesso a dar voce alle proprie scanzonate melodie di un pop assolato eppure velato dall’immancabile velo di malinconia che si respira per le strade della sua Glasgow. L’agile Ep di quattro tracce “Beard On A Bike” anticipa un album la cui uscita è prevista entro la fine dell’anno, offrendo nuovo respiro all’inesauribile fiamma del pop chitarristico, del quale McCluskey continua a essere interprete appassionato, ironico e ispiratissimo. La sola title track, col suo jingle jangle ciondolante e spensierato, è destinata a essere inclusa nel nuovo disco, mentre gli altri tre brani ne costituiscono molto più che semplici b-side o scarti di lavorazione rispetto al più ampio contesto dell’album. Sono sufficienti meno di dodici minuti per offrire dell’artista scozzese un profilo a tutto tondo, esplicato tanto nelle briose pulsazioni di “Golden Afternoon” quanto nella più corposa grana chitarristica di “Saturday Girl” e ancora nell’agrodolce finale “Looking Out For You”, che chiude idealmente il cerchio dell’ Ep, breve cartolina estiva, che però rammenta come non sia così distante quell’autunno così congeniale ai languori indie-pop.   --Music Won't Save You
 
Ti ricordi quel periodo in cui il "suono Matinée" sembrava racchiudere tutto quello che volevi dall'indiepop? Non sapevi niente per settimane o mesi, poi arrivava una newsletter e in un attimo era primavera. L'altro giorno ho visto la notifica "New EP from Bubblegum Lemonade!" sul telefono mentre ero in bici e me ne sono dimenticato quasi subito. Eppure la band scozzese continua a tenere alta come sempre la bandiera di un jangle-pop splendente, nemmeno troppo malinconico e "instantly catchy", come recita il comunicato stampa. Ora tornano con questo nuovo EP Beard On A Bike, anticipazione di un album intitolato The Great Leap Backward in arrivo a fine anno. Eppure, questa piccola canzonetta simpatica, con le sue chitarre squillanti, mi ha fatto pensare che la stessa idea di twee, codificata, diffusa e superata, a volte non sembra più rappresentare una certa sfumatura della nostalgia, ma in qualche modo diventa una formula per raccontare la nostalgia di quando si provava davvero nostalgia.   --Polaroid
 
La Matinée Recordings è così, prendere o lasciare. Resta in silenzio per lunghissimo tempo e poi piazza nel giro di poco una doppietta da 10 e lode. Dopo l'annuncio della raccolta di materiale raro di Math And Physics Club ecco il nuovo 'Beard On A Bike’ EP di Bubblegum Lemonade, atteso per il 1 luglio. Ad anticipare il progetto del cantautore di Glasgow Lawrence 'Laz' McCluskey, che sarà composto di 4 brani, ci pensa il retrogusto anni '50 della melodica traccia che da il titolo all'EP. Più avanti nel corso dell'anno è atteso il quarto album, ‘The Great Leap Backward’.   --Indie-Rock.it
 
Toujours défendu par l'impeccable label américain Matinée Recordings, la formation indie pop de Glasgow menée par l'excellent Lawrence "Laz" McCluskey fait son retour après trois ans d'absence. Avant un nouvel album ("The Great Leap Backward") à venir plus tard dans l'année, Bubblegum Lemonade publiera un cinq titres limité à 1000 exemplaires, "Beard on a Bike", le 1er juillet.   --PopNews

 

Nuevo EP del escocés Lawrence McLuskey bajo el nombre de BUBBLEGUM LEMONADE. Sin duda, Laz es un artista con un talento y una inspiración envidiables para construir preciosos caramelos pop de maravillosas influencias. El EP se abre con el tema que le da nombre, cuyo riff de guitarra me recuerda a “Groenlandia” de los ZOMBIES. Se trata de un adelanto de su nuevo álbum, ‘The great leap backward’, y al tema titular le acompañan tres preciosas canciones, inéditas y exclusivas de este EP, que no aparecerán en el álbum, en las que el compositor se graba y dobla sus propias guitarras y voces, creando magníficas armonías vocales y deliciosas atmósferas jangle-pop.--El Planeta Amarillo