The Gulps - 'Surrender'
The Gulps new single, ‘Surrender’ is an irrepressible love letter to noughties rock, devoid of apology, parody or pretence!
The track kicks off with punchy, unrelenting drums, accompanied by a 16th note tambourine. This brilliantly builds a solid structure for the rest of the song and instantly sets the tone. As the song flows the instrumentation is layered. Introducing; a rumbling rhythmic bass line, feedback laden electric guitars, quirky, tasteful synth parts and spoken, lazy vocals. These elements all flow and skillfully come in and out of focus until the chorus where we get energetic, screaming vocals that take their rightful place front and centre. Punchy. Rambunctious. Riotous.
The lyrics explore the effect that one’s young romantic relationships have on the trajectory of life. There’s a clever childlike naivety in the lyrics, alluding to holding on to the past which adds to the feeling of desperation and longing throughout the song. With the line ‘I want to be forever young…you make me feel forever young’ perfectly summing this up. This is one of the very few songs I can think of that has a middle 8 in French, and it honestly feels in place. It could be difficult to pull off without sounding a bit silly, but it fits the timbre and structure of the song perfectly and is a shining testament to their songwriting ability.
If you’ve heard previous releases from ‘ The Gulps’, ‘Surrender’ is a slight change of direction from what you might be expecting to hear. While still maintaining their unique sound and vibe, the effects, feel and overall tone of the track is reminiscent of many of the British and Irish rock bands of the noughties. Think, Kaiser Chiefs, The Enemy, The View, Ash & Dirty Pretty Things. And this isn’t a mere coincidence either, as ‘Surrender’ was produced by, the formidable, Tim Wheller, Ash’s frontman and lead guitarist!
All in, this is a fantastic, succinct rock record and The Gulps are definitely ones to watch!
Words by Grant Dallas
