Gulp
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Gulp

Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | INDIE

Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom | INDIE
Established on Jan, 2012
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"NME ALBUM REVIEW: Gulp Season Sun"

While Gruff Rhys occupies himself hauling a stuffed historical figurine across the States, the debut album by Gulp suggests his Super Furry Animals bandmate Guto Pryce has settled for simpler domestic pleasures. Revolving around a core duo of Pryce and partner Lindsey Leven, Gulp distil SFA’s flashes of psychedelic sunshine into glistening droplets of rainbow-hued pastoral pop. Although Leven recites a fair number of hippie clichés (“Make some peace, everyone” implores ‘Seasoned Sun’), it’s her inventive use of an arsenal of rich, vintage synths that rescues ‘Season Sun’ from cloying sweetness. The twangy Django Django stomp of ‘Vast Space’ and clockwork electronic disco of ‘I Want To Dance’ are refreshing stylistic deviations on a record awash with joyful Sixties fantasies.

Read more at http://www.nme.com/reviews/various-artists/15444#dWwKZJctXXppCBjJ.99 - NME


"The playlist – indie: Gulp, Superfood and Damon Albarn"

Super Furry Animals bassist Guto Pryce releases his new album with his latest project Gulp this week. Consisting of Pryce and his partner – synth player and vocalist Lindsey Leven – they make a dense sound-explosion of psychedelic pop and motorik Krautrock, in keeping with most of the music put out on the ever-excellent Sonic Cathedral label. Written while Pryce and Leven were on a road trip through both the Californian desert and holidaying through the Scottish Highlands, their music combines in equal parts the scorched sunsets of far away lands and the weirdo musings of British bands from rainier climes. - The Guardian


"Featured Artist: Gulp"

Gulp is the latest musical escapade to float free of the mind of Super Furry Animals bass player Guto Pryce.

The Welsh man has enlisted the vocal talents of bewitching songstress Lindsey Leven to inject some pop sass into their psychedelic sound.

It’s a pairing which makes for a dreamy musical combination. Debut album Seasoned Sun is made up from a melting pot of suitably hallucinatory influences with strains of the Wicker Man, nineties video games, Nancy Sinatra and classic electronica all glistening in their songs.

Using a menagerie of battered old analogue equipment, Gulp have spent the past two years writing, recording and piecing the album together in a range of nooks and crannies. Their own basement, several studios in Cardiff Bay and even a friend’s kitchen and a local community centre classroom have provided the backdrop to their musical experiments.

Previous accomplishments have included touring with Django Django and receiving much love for their debut single, Game Love.

Their debut album Seasoned Sun is released via Sonic Cathedral today. Check out the absurdities of their video to new track Vast Space below… - PRS M Magazine


"Album Review: Gulp Season Sun"

If I have learned one thing in my time on this planet, it is not to try and second-guess a Super Furry Animal. The experimental Welsh rock band’s overall style has always managed to be at once immediately distinctive and joyfully progressive, each album proving to be a revelation, every gig abuzz with added cult hero extras like crazy headgear, costumes and a generally vivid display of personality. Now on hiatus while the various members pursue side-projects, the band’s individual elements are being revealed in relief. As frontman Gruff Rhys has evolved, via a string of idiosyncratic and high concept outings, into one of our most revered cultural experimenters, bassist Guto Pryce has been getting back to basics. His new band, Gulp, grew from a period of tinkering away in the home studio with his partner, the singer and synth player Lindsey Leven, and the spoils of those sessions reveal themselves in the Season Sun album.

As someone who is apt to suffer an adverse reaction to songs that vociferously seek to improve my mood, the unashamedly feel-good timbre of this record could have rubbed me up the wrong way (“We wanted to make a sunshine pop record,” Pryce is quoted as saying in the press release. “Happy vibes, get people smiling and dancing.”). However, Season Sun made one of the most positive first impressions on me of any new album in a while, genuinely lifting my spirits with its mixture of crisp synth sounds, feathery vocals and a cosy, analogue warmth. The lyrics, while initially seeming simplistic, are purposefully stripped back, suggestive of a philosophy or a road to enjoyment that involves being mindful and deriving more value from the simple pleasures – a refreshing change from the usual facile order to slap a smile on your face (or Pharrell’s numbskull rallying cry of “Happyyyy”, which puts me in mind of a desperate parent’s attempt to trick a crying toddler into thinking it is having fun. Sorry, but I did try to warn you I’m a miserable bastard).



Of course, it takes real skill to appear effortless, and - as befits the musical pedigree of the project, which also includes guitarist Gid Goundrey and former Race Horses drummer Gwion Llewelyn - repeated listens reveal lots going on under the breezy surface of this album. The meaty rhythm section keeps things tethered to reality, and a range of styles and influences come creeping out of the woodwork, from garage rock to psychedelic folk to the techno pop that ran through the SFA’s output. From the celestial lightness of disco-inflected opener, ‘Game Love’, emerges a rhythmically hypnotic flow; ‘Let’s Grow’ – an ode to the straightforward beauty and nourishment to be found in watching things grow – brings in a sunny indie sound with a Beach Boys lilt and playful synth twirls. ‘Vast Space’ has an industrial, glam air, pairing an insistent and expansive chugging beat with the most ephemeral of vocals to widen horizons. The tracks that seem the simplest, like ‘Clean And Serene’, often build into a swelling wave of energy. By the time the almost-title track ‘Seasoned Sun’ comes around, followed by ‘Play’, the melodies have become catchier, the guitars twangier and some variation in vocal tone shows off Leven’s talent to a fuller degree. There is at times a Scandinavian feel about this music, in its wide-eyed-yet-coolly relaxed tone, and the failsafe allure of a Welsh lilt is a bonus which reinforces this vague sense of almost-exoticism. On the evocative ‘Hot Water’, country guitar melts into trip-hop ambience; male/female voices alternate to lullaby effect in ‘Everything’. Lest we get too hippy-dippy, closing track ‘I Want To Dance’ brings a wink and a smile; it comes over like a slowed down Euro-pop number, its charmingly cheesy soaring chorus (complete with refrain of “Ok, let’s dance!”) fit to soundtrack a package holiday montage in a nostalgically loved film or TV series, before winding out on a retro sci-fi synth trip and dropping the listener off back into their everyday life in a refreshed frame of mind.

The sense of enjoyment and freedom that characterised SFA’s music is everywhere here, but in an unexpectedly subtle tenor – less hedonistically charged, but no less geared toward pleasure. It sounds like Guto is living the good life. While I can’t predict how many of these individual songs will prove strong enough to stay with me forever, the overall atmosphere of the album is one I am sure I will find myself wanting – or even needing – to dip back into time and again. - Gigslutz


"Review: Gulp Season Sun"

Sometime Super Furry Animal, Guto Pryce told me around the turn of the year that, given how well-equipped the band were with “singers and songwriters – left, right and centre”, songwriting was never really his “thing.” Instead, this is something that he’s felt compelled to tackle since, and it’s thus understandable that he and his partner both musical and marital, Lindsey Leven, should have gone with the moniker, Gulp. For it has seemingly taken a great deal of guts for the duo to get to the stage at which they’re now ready to release their début album, Season Sun, at all. But, brimming with guile and gumption likewise, he and Leven really oughtn’t have worried because if the record was several years in the making, then it shows in a clean and remarkably competent first effort.

If its execution took years, then decades of combined experience have gone into it: on the drums, Gwion Llyr Llewelyn – once of Race Horses; helping out here and there are fellow Super Furries, Cian Ciarán and Dayfydd Ieuan. And while Pryce may not be necessarily stepping right out into the limelight (he continues to hide behind that ginormous Fender Jazz Bass of his, rather than assuming lead vocal duties here), he’s no paucity of know-how himself. However with that said, as evidenced during the heartwarming Krautrock of Clean And Serene, he can himself hold down a mellifluous lyric as well as he can a perambulatory bass line…

These perhaps aren’t quite so prominent as one might anticipate: that which subtly flows throughout the buoyant Grey Area is just about the best, while Pryce and Llewelyn combine quite majestically on Play, Leven’s sunshiny chiming: “Such a good day/ Such a nice day/ Such a good day to play” at stark odds with the temperamental, although primarily inclement weather we’ve been experiencing of late. This may be as renowned of Wales as neo-psychedelia these days, but if not the most lucrative of releases, few will coat next week in so warm and welcoming a lustre as Season Sun.

Dizzying, less Lazer but more sunbeam-dappled highlights are both pleasant and plentiful – from the sassy shimmying of nearly-title track Seasoned Sun to the wild, Western swagger of Vast Space; the adroitly moistened balladry of Hot Water to the breathless, Sébastien Tellier-esque Everything, Season Sun is a forever intimate, but never insular listen. That is to say that Pryce and Leven are only too happy to allow us to see into their shiny world; they merely beseech we keep it neat and tidy when taking a quick look around. But even in the more remote corners, such as the concluding sci-fi slow dance that is I Want To Dance, Season Sun sheds light on vision, ambition and brilliance in the every sense of the word. - Dots and Dashes


"Gulp Season Sun"

What with Super Furry Animals being one of the most brilliantly consistent bands on the planet, every solo release is met with unfair anticipation and a smidge of dread. Since their debut, Fuzzy Logic, there's been a collective will for them to not fuck it up and, so far, they've pretty much managed it.

There's been solo records and collaborative projects from just about every SFA member, with Gruff Rhys approaching bona fide national treasure status through his latest American Interior LP and the Neon Neon tagteam, while others have appeared on soundtracks, remixes and output of The Peth.

Super Furry devotees will have no doubt seen Guto Pryce's new band, Gulp, playing great intimate shows, and now, there's a debut album – Season Sun – to get excited about. The Guardian have already dubbed Gulp as "The Wicker Man getting fresh with Nancy Sinatra," which is a lazy way of saying that there's an acid-psych element to proceedings and a woman involved (Lindsey Leven on vocal duties). However, more accurately, Gulp have created the kind of occult synth psychedelia that has been so loved by fans of Broadcast, Stereolab, Annette Peacock, and the sorely underrated Soundcarriers.

Admittedly, there is a pastoral, summery quality to Season Sun, but you can't say that they've achieved their aim of making something that's just "happy". The fact is, there's an unease in the DNA of the music, which is what makes Season Sun such an appealing record. The music may be innocent, there's something looming behind it. - The Quietus


"The 5 new songs you need to listen to Right Now!"

Gulp - "Vast Space"
There's something really satisfying about a barely there vocal getting tossed like tumbleweed through a driving psychedelic rock squall that's 100 percent intensity from start to finish. MG - Nylon Magazine


"Focus Wales – Saturday review"

Catching our breath, up next are Gulp. The side-project of Super Furries’ bassman Guto Pryce, tonight they’re emboldened as a full band – featuring Guto alongside vocalist Lindsey Leven, guitarist Gid Goudrey and former Race Horses drummer Gwion Llewelyn.
They hit their stride with hypnotic splendour thanks to a cinematic and ethereal sound that channels everything from crackling ’60s freakbeat to the funkier climes of post-punk (think Tom Tom Club and Gang of Four) with added glacial vocals courtesy of the Siouxsie Sioux-like yelps of enigmatic frontwoman Lindsey. On this form their debut album, due in July, will be a gem. - Wales Online


"Gulp, proyecto de Guto Pryce, anuncia álbum debut"

Un nuevo álbum que contará con la experiencia que solo alguien que posee una vasta y extendida carrera musical puede dar, está en camino; hablamos del álbum debut de Gulp, proyecto de Guto Pryce (Super Furry Animals), el cual tiene como fecha de salida el próximo 24 de junio y se titula ‘Season Sun’.
Y aunque pudiera parecer que Gulp no tiene nada de práctica, la verdad es que sí la tiene, ya que cuentan con algo de experiencia dando presentaciones en vivo; además, Guto Pryce seguirá contando con la compañía de su esposa Lindsey Leven, así como con la de Gid Goundrey y Gwion Llewelyn.
En seguida pueden escuchar un primer adelanto que la banda británica comparte de su álbum debut, titulado “Vast Space” y comprueben ustedes mismos si en verdad su música es un “antídoto contra el pesimismo de la vida moderna”, como ellos mismos la describen. - Filter Mexico


"Seasond Sun - Gulp"

Seasoned Sun – the so-called ‘almost title track’ to Guto Pryce and Lindsey Leven’s forthcoming Gulp full-length début, Season Sun – may sound much like a 7” single edition of The Castaways’ single of ’65, Liar, Liar, had the seminal nugget been left to warp on a windowsill drenched in broad daylight for days on end. But it’s also the Celtic duo’s most accomplished, and with that compelling recording to date, wending its way around the kind of coquettish pop once cooked up in Stereolab, Pryce’s superb, meandering bass lines leading the way with squelchy synth interludes worthy of Jeff Wayne completing the piece. And the outcome is, thus suitably, out of this world all year round. - Dots and Dashes


"NEW SONG: "Seasoned Sun" from Gulp"

Gulp is vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Lindsey Leven, her husband Guto Pryce (a founding member of Super Furry Animals), and Gid Goundrey (guitars) and Gwion Llewelyn (drums/vocals). They are close to releasing an album, Season Sun, and are sharing the advance track "Seasoned Sun".

There are all kinds of psychedelia, aren't there? There's the heavy guitar-based stuff based on Eastern music, but there's the kind that, while very poppy, is sort of untethered and relies on synths more than guitars. I'd say Gulp follows fairly close to the course tracked by SFA - synths and reverb, but adds in Leven's ethereal vocals. It's a delightful, airy sound.
Looking forward to hearing this album - it could be a significant part of the summer soundtrack, based on these two tracks. The album will be out in July on Everloving Records (same label that released that great Don Cavalli album last year). - When You Motor Away


"Gulp (member of Super Furry Animals) releasing debut LP (stream the new single, "Vast Space")"

As discussed, a few of the members of Super Furry Animals are knee deep in side project mode at the moment, including bassist Guto Pryce, who formed the band Gulp with singer Lindsey Leven. Their debut album will be coming out later this year, but ahead of that, we've got the premiere of its new single, "Vast Space." Less off-kilter than some of Super Furry Animals' work, the new song is driving, moody, and a little psychedelic with Lindsey's cool, hushed vocals casually taking the lead. Check it out, with the album artwork, below.
The band's only US date at the moment is a SXSW show in Austin at midnight on Friday, March 14 at The Hideout. His SFA bandmate Gruff Rhys will be at SXSW too. - Brooklyn Vegan


"Focus Wales day 3 Review"

One of today’s most anticipated sets was about to be delivered by Gulp and it was an absolute belter.

Former Super Furry Animals bassist Guto Pryce and Scottish vocalist Lindsey Leven have been joined by Race Horses drummer Gwion Llewelyn and Gid Goundrey on guitar. The results of this chemistry are obvious from the minute the band hit the stage with Pryce’s churning, incessant bass rhythms complemented brilliantly by Leven’s dreamy and haunting vocals. This is irresistible dance music but there is a lot more going on besides. The power-house drumming combines perfectly and Goundrey’s guitar is sometimes a little under-stated but never anything less than intriguing. Lindsey Leven complements her mesmeric vocal performance with some sublime synth touches and the sound veers from a hypnotic rapture to something that could be almost Banshees-like and the crowd, unable to resist the urge to dance are lapping it up. Gulp have their hotly-anticipated debut album out in July and it can’t come a moment too soon. - Louder Than War


"Song Premiere: Gulp - "Seasoned Sun""

Gulp began with Guto Pryce and Lindsey Leven, the husband-and-wife duo who founded the band with friends Gid Goundrey and Gwion Llewelyn. Pryce had already spent two decades making a name for himself with with UK group Super Furry Animals, but writing and recording with Leven was a new triumph, and the result is a warm, synth-soaked sound where Leven’s vocals take the spotlight. Listen to “Seasoned Sun” from the band’s similarly-titled forthcoming album Season Sun in the player above. Season Sun is set for release on July 8 via Everloving. - Paste Magazine


"Super Furry Animals side-project Gulp announce debut album Season Sun, stream track “Seasoned Sun”"

​Super Furry Animals bassist Guto Pryce is set to release the debut album from his new band Gulp this summer, today airing its very nearly title-track “Seasoned Sun”.

​​Encapsulating the psych-tinged but pop-leaning hallmarks of his other outfit, the single centres not around Gruff Rhys’ signature drawl but instead singer Lindsey Leven’s irresistible vocals. You can take a listen to “Seasoned Sun” right now below.

“We wanted to make a sunshine pop record,” says Pryce of the LP. “Happy vibes, get people smiling and dancing”, while Leven adds: “In a world where everyone seems so busy and caught up in technology, it’s a reflection of the simple things in life: dreaming of living self-sufficiently in the countryside, the beauty of watching plants grow and thinking of just how these simple things can be so pleasurable in a world that can be full of angst.”

Pryce and Leven are joined in the band by guitarist Gid Goundrey and former Race Horses drummer Gwion Llewelyn. Season Sun will be released via Sonic Cathedral on 14 July. - The Line of Best Fit


"Sweet Baboo Islington Assembly Hall"

Given the influence Stephen Black has so explicitly derived from the alas, these days extinct Super Furry Animals when writing under the guise of Sweet Baboo, it ought to be of little surprise that he should’ve enlisted bassist Guto Pryce’s Gulp to support this not particularly insubstantial showing at N1’s Islington Assembly Hall. Gulp, as was the case with SFA and so too still is with Sweet Baboo, plash about playfully in an understated indie majesty, the surfy Vast Space an apt soundtrack to a fictitious motorway chase or a choppy South Walian afternoon. Indeed, if a woozy, at times ethereal psychedelia redux on record, then live, these sweetened pieces assume an ever more gloopy bearing as tracks such as Play ooze a glorious surreality. Their own Slow Life of sorts, bits of bloopy Kraftwerk inspiration combine with Lindsey Leven’s Goldfrapp-y vocal delivery and Gid Goundrey’s astral take on Morricone melodrama. Then, when Leven and erstwhile Race Horses drummer Gwion Llewelyn nimbly enwrap their vocals around one another like puppies might a supple underbelly, the sound wafting out over the PA becomes that bit more lavish still. They depart to the dulcet, slowly motioning Furry Techno scintillation of Diamonds, easing us out of this delightfully quiet surprise as one. - Dots and Dashes


"Sweet Baboo Islington Assembly Hall"

Given the influence Stephen Black has so explicitly derived from the alas, these days extinct Super Furry Animals when writing under the guise of Sweet Baboo, it ought to be of little surprise that he should’ve enlisted bassist Guto Pryce’s Gulp to support this not particularly insubstantial showing at N1’s Islington Assembly Hall. Gulp, as was the case with SFA and so too still is with Sweet Baboo, plash about playfully in an understated indie majesty, the surfy Vast Space an apt soundtrack to a fictitious motorway chase or a choppy South Walian afternoon. Indeed, if a woozy, at times ethereal psychedelia redux on record, then live, these sweetened pieces assume an ever more gloopy bearing as tracks such as Play ooze a glorious surreality. Their own Slow Life of sorts, bits of bloopy Kraftwerk inspiration combine with Lindsey Leven’s Goldfrapp-y vocal delivery and Gid Goundrey’s astral take on Morricone melodrama. Then, when Leven and erstwhile Race Horses drummer Gwion Llewelyn nimbly enwrap their vocals around one another like puppies might a supple underbelly, the sound wafting out over the PA becomes that bit more lavish still. They depart to the dulcet, slowly motioning Furry Techno scintillation of Diamonds, easing us out of this delightfully quiet surprise as one. - Dots and Dashes


"Swn Festival Day One Review"

...Time next for a band we know nothing about and blimey o’reilly Gulp were fuckin’ fab. Dancey, electronic Hot Chip “Goldfrapp” grooves that had a few of us swaying and wishing it was a few hours later than half nine. A bloke from the Super Furry Animals, a Folk singer, a couple of others and some tunes worth hunting out ….. here you go ….. have this one on me …..
This is great and this is why we’re here. This is proof that our intuition a few weeks ago when we noticed this festival was happening was correct. Back of the net as they say...
- Louder Than War


"Swn Festival Day One Review"

...Time next for a band we know nothing about and blimey o’reilly Gulp were fuckin’ fab. Dancey, electronic Hot Chip “Goldfrapp” grooves that had a few of us swaying and wishing it was a few hours later than half nine. A bloke from the Super Furry Animals, a Folk singer, a couple of others and some tunes worth hunting out ….. here you go ….. have this one on me …..
This is great and this is why we’re here. This is proof that our intuition a few weeks ago when we noticed this festival was happening was correct. Back of the net as they say...
- Louder Than War


"30 Bands You Need To Check Out At Swn"

12 0f 30
30 Bands You Need To Check Out At SWN
Gulp Super Furries’ bassist Guto Price joins up with Scottish singer Lindsey Leven to indulge in some Celtic psychedelia that the pair themselves have described as “cosmic-pop”.

- NME


"30 Bands You Need To Check Out At Swn"

12 0f 30
30 Bands You Need To Check Out At SWN
Gulp Super Furries’ bassist Guto Price joins up with Scottish singer Lindsey Leven to indulge in some Celtic psychedelia that the pair themselves have described as “cosmic-pop”.

- NME


"The best of this week’s singles: Gulp, of Montreal, Shy FX and mor"

We feel the real deal” declares Lindsey Leven in the sultriest of sultry voices, and – if you’ll forgive the verging-on-Yoda syntax – the real deal Gulp most certainly are.

Underpinned by the distinctive, sophisticated plinks of Super Furry Animals bassist Guto Pryce and gently swarmed in deliciously twinkly high-end synthery, “Play” is like some kind of space-pop Spaghetti Western, one that adds a pinch of Tropicália here, a dash of vintage Bond theme there and winds up as our single of the week.

Even better – and believe us, that’s going some – is the luxurious B-side “Hot Water”, in which Leven gets going with an airily blissed-out delivery of “Once in every while, I like to take a dip / You should see me smile just when I think of it”.

Not only does “Hot Water” manage to sound just like a submergence in sun-warmed waters, but you should see us smile when we listen to it. It’s like SFA circa Love Kraft but with a supremely honeyed female vocal as its focal point: wonderful, just wonderful.

We were already looking forward to Gulp’s debut album, now we’re champing at that there bit. Fall in love with it, fall in love to it, whatever: just get Gulp in your life. - Rocksucker


"The best of this week’s singles: Gulp, of Montreal, Shy FX and mor"

We feel the real deal” declares Lindsey Leven in the sultriest of sultry voices, and – if you’ll forgive the verging-on-Yoda syntax – the real deal Gulp most certainly are.

Underpinned by the distinctive, sophisticated plinks of Super Furry Animals bassist Guto Pryce and gently swarmed in deliciously twinkly high-end synthery, “Play” is like some kind of space-pop Spaghetti Western, one that adds a pinch of Tropicália here, a dash of vintage Bond theme there and winds up as our single of the week.

Even better – and believe us, that’s going some – is the luxurious B-side “Hot Water”, in which Leven gets going with an airily blissed-out delivery of “Once in every while, I like to take a dip / You should see me smile just when I think of it”.

Not only does “Hot Water” manage to sound just like a submergence in sun-warmed waters, but you should see us smile when we listen to it. It’s like SFA circa Love Kraft but with a supremely honeyed female vocal as its focal point: wonderful, just wonderful.

We were already looking forward to Gulp’s debut album, now we’re champing at that there bit. Fall in love with it, fall in love to it, whatever: just get Gulp in your life. - Rocksucker


"The Away Game Festival 2012"

Early Saturday afternoon sees Welsh trio Gulp play their second-ever gig to an appreciative crowd. This is Guto Pryce from Super Furry Animals’ new side-project, and their woozy space-country music sounds like it’s been beamed out of the year 3013. Keep an eye on them – it’s sounding interesting. - The Clash


"FESTIVAL REPORT: Green Man 2013"

Sunday's collective scheduling, again, may have been planned with the walking dead in mind. Personally (this is quite a personal review), if I found myself watching Ben Howard, Johnny Flynn or Stornoway on the main stage, I'd probably assume I was dead, and in hell, but at least they're pretty upbeat, which is what you need to power through to the ghastly end. Some of us had a seven-swatches-of-black rainbow in the form of a closing set from Swans to think about. Before that, a most agreeable early afternoon set from Gulp, who feature Guto from Super Furry Animals and his other half Lindsey and pull a few plums out of their Broadcast/Silver Apples witch-psych pudding. - The Quietus


"FESTIVAL REPORT: Green Man 2013"

Sunday's collective scheduling, again, may have been planned with the walking dead in mind. Personally (this is quite a personal review), if I found myself watching Ben Howard, Johnny Flynn or Stornoway on the main stage, I'd probably assume I was dead, and in hell, but at least they're pretty upbeat, which is what you need to power through to the ghastly end. Some of us had a seven-swatches-of-black rainbow in the form of a closing set from Swans to think about. Before that, a most agreeable early afternoon set from Gulp, who feature Guto from Super Furry Animals and his other half Lindsey and pull a few plums out of their Broadcast/Silver Apples witch-psych pudding. - The Quietus


"Live Review: Gulp & Francobollo at Heavenly Social"

What a stupidly gifted and industrious bunch Super Furry Animals are. They may not be currently operating as the magnificent five-headed beast that delivered nine uniformly stupendous studio albums between 1996 and 2009, but that just means we get Gruff Rhys and Cian Ciarán releasing gorgeous solo efforts, a new Neon Neon LP on the way, Daffyd Ieuan rocking folks’ balls off with The Peth, Huw ‘Bunf’ Bunford disappearing into the shadows to record found sounds and (fingers crossed) an album’s worth of his own songs…

…and bassist Guto Pryce, ever the ‘quiet one’ on account of his being the only member not to chip in vocally, has emerged alongside Scottish singer Lindsey Leven as Gulp, dealing in lush, sultry electro-pop such as the following…





Off we popped to the ace Heavenly Social venue in central London to watch them headline a Huw Stephens Present night, and we were downstairs with a drink in time to catch Swedish four-piece Francobollo working their crowd into a lather with electrifying performances of such awesome, wonky odd-rock as the following sun-smooched belter…





Had there been an entrance fee then Francobollo could have justified it on their own, but then of course we had the unassuming Pryce and Leven taking to the stage with their band to delight us all over again, albeit in a very different way. The former’s two most distinctive settings – namely the melodically probing bass lines of SFA’s earlier work, and the sophisticated, reverby ‘plinks’ on their more recent output – were both integrated alongside some Motorik and funky turns as the soundscapes wrapped around Leven’s bewitching vocals added new layers of intrigue with each passing number.

Gloopy electronics, hypnotically popping ‘n’ clicking digi-beats, darkly luxurious melodies: if this sounds like your kind of thing then Rocksucker implores you to gobble up any resultant album with a hearty Gulp. It’s to be hoped that the world takes notice of how gosh darn lovely this stuff is, because it would be at once heartwarming and vindicating to see Gulp drawing rings around it.

Two splendid acts + no entrance fee = five quails in anyone’s book.

Rocksucker says: Five Quails out of Five! - Rocksucker


"Live Review: Gulp & Francobollo at Heavenly Social"

What a stupidly gifted and industrious bunch Super Furry Animals are. They may not be currently operating as the magnificent five-headed beast that delivered nine uniformly stupendous studio albums between 1996 and 2009, but that just means we get Gruff Rhys and Cian Ciarán releasing gorgeous solo efforts, a new Neon Neon LP on the way, Daffyd Ieuan rocking folks’ balls off with The Peth, Huw ‘Bunf’ Bunford disappearing into the shadows to record found sounds and (fingers crossed) an album’s worth of his own songs…

…and bassist Guto Pryce, ever the ‘quiet one’ on account of his being the only member not to chip in vocally, has emerged alongside Scottish singer Lindsey Leven as Gulp, dealing in lush, sultry electro-pop such as the following…





Off we popped to the ace Heavenly Social venue in central London to watch them headline a Huw Stephens Present night, and we were downstairs with a drink in time to catch Swedish four-piece Francobollo working their crowd into a lather with electrifying performances of such awesome, wonky odd-rock as the following sun-smooched belter…





Had there been an entrance fee then Francobollo could have justified it on their own, but then of course we had the unassuming Pryce and Leven taking to the stage with their band to delight us all over again, albeit in a very different way. The former’s two most distinctive settings – namely the melodically probing bass lines of SFA’s earlier work, and the sophisticated, reverby ‘plinks’ on their more recent output – were both integrated alongside some Motorik and funky turns as the soundscapes wrapped around Leven’s bewitching vocals added new layers of intrigue with each passing number.

Gloopy electronics, hypnotically popping ‘n’ clicking digi-beats, darkly luxurious melodies: if this sounds like your kind of thing then Rocksucker implores you to gobble up any resultant album with a hearty Gulp. It’s to be hoped that the world takes notice of how gosh darn lovely this stuff is, because it would be at once heartwarming and vindicating to see Gulp drawing rings around it.

Two splendid acts + no entrance fee = five quails in anyone’s book.

Rocksucker says: Five Quails out of Five! - Rocksucker


"SINGLES OF THE WEEK"

Prepare to enter the purple mists of Hawaii circa 1956, as UFOs spiral down to the beaches at the command of voodoo drumbeats! Or, if that sounds like an expensive holiday, prepare instead to listen to the new single from Gulp. Comprised of SFA's Guto and Lyndsey Leven, this two-piece are transpiring to make some of the most spellbinding singles of the year – and this one's their best yet.
4 out of 5 - Artrocker


"Interview: Gulp"

Guto Pryce is not just one fifth of one of our greatest modern day bands – he is also one of the finest and most well-respected bassists going, as his recent moonlighting with Sonic Boom and Mark Fry will testify to. Now he has teamed up with Scottish singer Lindsey Leven to form Gulp, whose splendidly sultry first single “Game Love” is available on white vinyl 7? with B-side “Diamonds in the Sky” (click here to order your copy), so Rocksucker fired some questions over to the pair in order to find out a little bit more about the project…and of course slip in a couple of Super Furry Animals fan boy questions for good measure.

First, though, get an earful of Guardian pick of the week “Game Love” – SFA aficionados should instantly recognise those deliciously reverby bass plinks – and psych yourself up for more of this loveliness in the not-too-distant future…



What prompted the formation of Gulp?

A shared love of music and travel made it the obvious choice.

How do you split the songwriting up, and who plays what on the recordings?

It’s very much a collaborative thing. One will write a song and the other will take it apart and reconstruct until we’re both happy. Both of us get involved with synths and bleeps. We grab the services of friends when recording. Daf from SFA helped us out on drums and Cian mixed the new single whilst local prodigy Gareth Bonello played guitar and cello on “Game Love”.

Is there a full album in the works? If so, can you say yet when it might be released, and what we can expect from it?

Yes, we’re making an album that will be ready by next year. Expect something along the lines of an electro-kraut-psych-folk record.



Will you be playing live shows?

Yep! We’ll be up on the Isle of Eigg playing at Fence Collective’s Away Game in July. We’re really excited about that. We’ll be making some announcements about other gigs soon. Our good pal Gid Goundrey is playing guitar with us.

Is this a one-off project or something you can see continuing?

It would be nice to make a pile of records and play a pile of shows.

Are there any other musical duos that you took your lead from?

Sly and Robbie.
- Rocksucker


"Interview: Gulp"

Guto Pryce is not just one fifth of one of our greatest modern day bands – he is also one of the finest and most well-respected bassists going, as his recent moonlighting with Sonic Boom and Mark Fry will testify to. Now he has teamed up with Scottish singer Lindsey Leven to form Gulp, whose splendidly sultry first single “Game Love” is available on white vinyl 7? with B-side “Diamonds in the Sky” (click here to order your copy), so Rocksucker fired some questions over to the pair in order to find out a little bit more about the project…and of course slip in a couple of Super Furry Animals fan boy questions for good measure.

First, though, get an earful of Guardian pick of the week “Game Love” – SFA aficionados should instantly recognise those deliciously reverby bass plinks – and psych yourself up for more of this loveliness in the not-too-distant future…



What prompted the formation of Gulp?

A shared love of music and travel made it the obvious choice.

How do you split the songwriting up, and who plays what on the recordings?

It’s very much a collaborative thing. One will write a song and the other will take it apart and reconstruct until we’re both happy. Both of us get involved with synths and bleeps. We grab the services of friends when recording. Daf from SFA helped us out on drums and Cian mixed the new single whilst local prodigy Gareth Bonello played guitar and cello on “Game Love”.

Is there a full album in the works? If so, can you say yet when it might be released, and what we can expect from it?

Yes, we’re making an album that will be ready by next year. Expect something along the lines of an electro-kraut-psych-folk record.



Will you be playing live shows?

Yep! We’ll be up on the Isle of Eigg playing at Fence Collective’s Away Game in July. We’re really excited about that. We’ll be making some announcements about other gigs soon. Our good pal Gid Goundrey is playing guitar with us.

Is this a one-off project or something you can see continuing?

It would be nice to make a pile of records and play a pile of shows.

Are there any other musical duos that you took your lead from?

Sly and Robbie.
- Rocksucker


"Hear Super Furry Animals Offshoot Gulp's Winning 'Game Love'"

Gulp is the latest project from Guto Pryce, bassist for '90s-spawned Welsh psych-rock psychopaths Super Furry Animals. Featuring Welsh songstress Lindsey Leven on bewitching lead vocals, "Game Love," is one side of a 7" due later this month on the group's own E.L.K. label. It's an amalgam of 21st-century electronic squiggles and vintage airy psych-folk, as contemporary as video games and as old as the hills. Leven sighs the title phrase over an extended sylvan groove, backed by SFA's Dafydd Ieuan on waltzing drums, and with meticulous mixing from fellow Furry member Cian Ciárán — all to sweetly hypnotic effect. Who says love is a losing game? - Spin


"Hear Super Furry Animals Offshoot Gulp's Winning 'Game Love'"

Gulp is the latest project from Guto Pryce, bassist for '90s-spawned Welsh psych-rock psychopaths Super Furry Animals. Featuring Welsh songstress Lindsey Leven on bewitching lead vocals, "Game Love," is one side of a 7" due later this month on the group's own E.L.K. label. It's an amalgam of 21st-century electronic squiggles and vintage airy psych-folk, as contemporary as video games and as old as the hills. Leven sighs the title phrase over an extended sylvan groove, backed by SFA's Dafydd Ieuan on waltzing drums, and with meticulous mixing from fellow Furry member Cian Ciárán — all to sweetly hypnotic effect. Who says love is a losing game? - Spin


"Singles for the week starting 2nd July!"

Gulp
Game Love
(E.L.K)
*****
There’s always been some sort of intergalactic connection between Super Furry Animals and the Beach Boys, which apparently started when the band used to return from countryside raves at 4am to chill out to ‘Surf’s Up’. No surprises then, that SFA bass honcho Guto’s new side-band, a duo with Scottish sine waver Lindsey Leven called Gulp, features a Beach Boys-esque ‘60s ambiance.
However, it also features a whole lot more: Leven’s voice flows throughout the song like the ghost of a Cornish mermaid, her voice offering a mysterious echo of Celtic singers of days gone by, from Heather Jones to Nest Howles of Brân.
If Leven’s voice is all druidic and mossy, then musically ‘Game Love’ has tinges of a cyber-future: electro fuzz comes courtesy of fellow Furry Animal Cian Ciaran, while atmospherically the track lands somewhere between Charlotte Gainsbourg and Sebastian Tellier. Needless to say it’s a thing of eyeball popping beauty that deserves to have psychotropic palm leaves wafted at its feet (and then, ideally, eaten).
Ric Rawlins - Artrocker


"Singles for the week starting 2nd July!"

Gulp
Game Love
(E.L.K)
*****
There’s always been some sort of intergalactic connection between Super Furry Animals and the Beach Boys, which apparently started when the band used to return from countryside raves at 4am to chill out to ‘Surf’s Up’. No surprises then, that SFA bass honcho Guto’s new side-band, a duo with Scottish sine waver Lindsey Leven called Gulp, features a Beach Boys-esque ‘60s ambiance.
However, it also features a whole lot more: Leven’s voice flows throughout the song like the ghost of a Cornish mermaid, her voice offering a mysterious echo of Celtic singers of days gone by, from Heather Jones to Nest Howles of Brân.
If Leven’s voice is all druidic and mossy, then musically ‘Game Love’ has tinges of a cyber-future: electro fuzz comes courtesy of fellow Furry Animal Cian Ciaran, while atmospherically the track lands somewhere between Charlotte Gainsbourg and Sebastian Tellier. Needless to say it’s a thing of eyeball popping beauty that deserves to have psychotropic palm leaves wafted at its feet (and then, ideally, eaten).
Ric Rawlins - Artrocker


"This week's new tracks"

Anyone wondering what the various members of Super Furry Animals are up to has clearly got way too much time on their hands, and yet a quick trawl of the internet reveals a lot of love for bassist Guto Pryce's new psych-folk outfit Gulp. Seems he met Scots singer Lindsey Leven at a psychedelic disco in Cardiff and, next thing they knew, they'd recorded two cuts of lush, tipsy pop, Game Love and Diamonds In The Sky, whose spooked demeanour suggests The Wicker Man getting fresh with Nancy Sinatra. That's Gulp: easy to swallow, hard to forget. - The Guardian


"This week's new tracks"

Anyone wondering what the various members of Super Furry Animals are up to has clearly got way too much time on their hands, and yet a quick trawl of the internet reveals a lot of love for bassist Guto Pryce's new psych-folk outfit Gulp. Seems he met Scots singer Lindsey Leven at a psychedelic disco in Cardiff and, next thing they knew, they'd recorded two cuts of lush, tipsy pop, Game Love and Diamonds In The Sky, whose spooked demeanour suggests The Wicker Man getting fresh with Nancy Sinatra. That's Gulp: easy to swallow, hard to forget. - The Guardian


Discography

June 2012: Game Love (7" single)
July 2013: Play (7" single)
July 2014: Season Sun (LP)

Photos

Bio

Gulp are Guto Pryce (Super Furry Animals) and Lindsey Leven, with Gid Goundrey providing guitar and Gwion Llewelyn (Race Horses) on drums. Fuzzed-up bass, dream-folk vocals, acoustic and electronic drums and synths... their cinematic and ethereal sound is a musical manifestation of the road trip; the landscape and events along the way, filmic scenes and melodies - from the sun-squinting, flickering saturation and lens flare of the Californian desert to the gloamin of rural Scottish and Welsh homescapes.

June 2012 saw the release of their debut single, Game Love, which received a 5* review from Artrocker magazine and pick of the week in The Guardian Guide. In late 2012 Gulp toured the UK and Ireland supporting Django Django and also contributed to the Django's Hi Djinx! remix lp with a cover version of Hand of Man.

Gulp's second single 'Play' was released in June 2013. They enjoyed appearances at many of the UK's summer festivals, including Green Man, Kendal Calling and Festival No.6.

In March 2014 the band embarked on their inaugural visit to North America with shows at SXSW in Austin,Texas and Los Angeles. The debut lp 'Season Sun' is released July 8th on Everloving Records in the U.S. and on Sonic Cathedral in Europe on July 14th. There will be a handful of gigs over the summer, including a second trip to the Isle of Eigg for the Howlin' Fling Festival before a tour in early October 2014.

"a thing of eyeball popping beauty that deserves to have psychotropic palm leaves wafted at its feet (and then, ideally, eaten)" Artrocker 5 stars *****

"It's an amalgam of 21st-century electronic squiggles and vintage airy psych-folk, as contemporary as video games and as old as the hills" Spin.com

"(Game Love's) spooked demeanour suggests The Wicker Man getting fresh with Nancy Sinatra. That's Gulp: easy to swallow, hard to forget" Guardian Guide Pick of the Week



Band Members