Gulp have revealed their latest single ‘Wildflower’, a refreshing, lithe, and calypso-tinged Monday pick-me-up that paints a pastel wash of escapist awe over sun-dappled synth-pop pleasure. Reflective of the band’s own ethereal electro-pop standing after more than a decade of creativity, while sounding echoes of Goldfrapp and the sophisticated pop of Saint Etienne with a hint of 60’s swag, the single’s bounding beach club basslines, illuminating tip-toeing keyboards, and resplendent melodies purposely evoke the fleeting “freedom of unencumbered childhood.”
Following a seven-year break between releases, accounted for by the wholesale relocation of multi-media artist and musician, Lindsey Leven and her partner, Super Furry Animals’ Guto Pryce from Cardiff to the coast of North East Fife, the band announced their third album, Beneath Strawberry Moons for release on ELK Records on Friday 29th August 2025. Impacted by landmark life events, not merely in practical terms, but in finding home within a fresh and generous artistic community on their new doorstep, and swapping fabricated city chaos for the chaotic whims of nature, Gulp’s third album found its own, organic way into being.
Having initially hush-released their first single since 2018, ‘Always So Far in May‘ and regrouped with fans amidst the optimistic haze of ‘Hope Shines Through The Haar ‘ last month, released with a video by Donald Milne, the Dundee-based artist behind Pulp’s era-defining Different Class album artwork, ‘Wildflower’ leads the band’s gentle stroll through summer.
Leven says of the song: “The wide sky where we live can be awe inspiring at times. This song is about growth, with a nod to motherhood and our own little wildflower. Tiny, yet somehow reaching the infinite sky.”
A specially-produced, animated, hand-painted video for ‘Wildflower’ continues the band’s 360-degree approach to illuminating their wondrous world of storytelling. Created by artist, Eilidh Nicoll, the animation was made using acrylic and gouache paint over the course of a week.
Nicoll says of her work: “Taking inspiration from the lyrics and Lindsey’s gorgeous woodblock vinyl cover, I wanted to experiment by animating organic shapes quite loosely and instinctively in response to the music, before bringing it all together digitally. It works in a way that I hope echoes the relationship between the dreamy vocals and the electronic elements of the song.”
Released on vinyl, including a 400-pressing limited Dinked Edition, as well as CD and digital formats, Beneath Strawberry Moons came to life, coincidentally, in time to the movements of the planets, unintentionally conforming to celestial timelines. Creating a proudly hyperlocal and low-carbon footprint album, working with bandmates, Gid Goundrey (guitar) and Stuart Kidd (drums) between Piggery Studio and the duo’s garden cabin in North East Fife, the album’s key recording, production, and promotional dates aligned with events beyond the ozone.
Leven adds: “Our main recording week fell on the week of summer solstice, and under a waning strawberry moon. On the day of mastering there was a rare great planetary alignment, or planetary parade and, on the day we signed off the album, we witnessed the lowest lying strawberry moon, another once-in-a-generational event. We’re still under that moon as we release the new single.”
Looking skywards, seawards and within, the nine deeply reflective songs on Beneath Strawberry Moons were mixed by long-term collaborator, Luke Abbott, with Andrew Wasylyk appearing to add Rhodes Piano on ‘Hope Shines Through The Haar.’ Nesting with a growing cast of like-minds to share in the creative process, the album also includes contributions from trumpeter, Rachel Simpson and trusted friend and long-serving Furries’ percussionist, Kris Jenkins.
Recruiting Belle And Sebastian keys player, Chris Geddes for the five-strong Gulp live band as they embark on a limited run of dates in support of the new album, opening at Glad Café in Glasgow (Fri 5 September), all of the band’s upcoming live dates are:
Fri 5 Sep – Glasgow, Glad Cafe
Sat 6 Sep – Dunfermline, Outwith Festival
Fri 12 Sep – Bethesda, Ara Deg Festival
Sat 13 Sep – Todmorden, Golden Lion
Initially forming in the early part of the last decade, Gulp’s debut album, Season Sun, was released in 2014 via Sonic Cathedral, followed by a run of remixes and a between-albums Morning Velvet Sky EP, counting in collaborators such as Django Django, Richard Norris, Miaoux Miaoux and Cian Ciarán. The first of their releases on ELK Records was their 2018 album, All Good Wishes.
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