Felt – Bubblegum Perfume

Following a run with Cherry Red Records that featured a potential major label jump, guitarist Maurice Deebank quitting and rejoining multiple times, several pop stardom carrots just out of reach, mixing battles with Robin Guthrie, and a shocking entry into the record charts, Lawrence (just “Lawrence”, like “Cher” or “Madonna” thank you very much) knew he would be making a change with his band Felt. He would be seeing out his plan of ten albums and ten singles in ten years alongside a new partner in Creation Records. This compilation beautifully captures those years.

Creation was beginning a rapid ascent at the time, with Alan McGee serving as its hyperactive mouthpiece and focal point. McGee was all in on the band. “Lawrence achieved pop perfection, a breathless rush of sensitivity and intelligence. It was too understated to be commercial, too art to go pop, too pop to go art - in other words it was a perfect combination of all the music I loved at the time”.

McGee was thrilled to have what he considered a real star on the label, and Lawrence was equally thrilled to have such an enthusiastic cheerleader. He funneled that enthusiasm into some of the most focused songwriting of his career, as well as some of his wildest experiments, all of which are on display here.

Tracklist:
I Will Die With My Head In Flames 1:32
Stained-Glass Windows In The Sky 1:56
I Didn't Mean To Hurt You 2:34
Space Blues 2:23
Autumn 1:50
Be Still 3:13
There's No Such Thing As Victory 2:17
Magellan 1:56
The Final Resting Of The Ark 2:39
Sandman's On The Rise Again 1:48
Don't Die On My Doorstep 2:17
A Wave Crashed On Rocks 2:51
Book Of Swords 2:18
Declaration 1:43
Gather Up Your Wings And Fly 3:53
The Darkest Ending 3:02
Bitter End 2:33
Rain Of Crystal Spires 3:54
Voyage To Illumination 1:18
Ballad Of The Band 2:48