Bubblegum Lemonade Leaps From the Bedpost

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.