Having impressed in a major way with both his breakout EP ‘Cherry Crush’ and the subsequent full length ‘Into The Night’, L’Avenue is back with a new collection. From its title, ‘Lemon Crush’ would suggest this is the bitter sister to the sweet ‘Cherry Crush’ EP. We prefer to think this is the progression of the relationship and indeed there are more introspective moments of longing on ‘Lemon Crush’ than with its predecessor but both have a certain exquisite romanticism to them.
‘Into The Night’ now feels like a rather different entity entirely when hearing the two EPs together – very much the nocturnal companion to the daytime feels of the shorter collections. If ‘Cherry Crush’ was the soundtrack to the early headiness of a blossoming and perhaps forbidden love, ‘Lemon Crush’ maybe depicts the complications that ensue when the pathway to love is not always so straightforward.
The title track definitely picks up from where we ended things with ‘Cherry Crush’ and leads us to ‘Kelly’ – maybe our mystery companion and the protagonist at the heart of all this. ‘Date’ is similarly sublime if melancholic. ‘Forever’ is the EP’s moment of optimism and the most positive and bright sonically. ‘Laguna Drive’ is the epic love theme and could literally soundtrack a life saving moment between two star crossed lovers swept up in the waves in a vintage Baywatch episode. The EP closes with the stark, woozy and almost foreboding ‘Oceans’ – are those guitars we hear in the intro? Might this be an indication of where L’Avenue will take us next? We will willingly follow. As ever the aesthetic is flawless and this artist demonstrates he’s no flash in the synthwave pan – again pushing the envelope in a way few of his contemporaries could dream of.
‘Lemon Crush’ is out digitally on 15 May with vinyl/CD/Cassette pre-order also. Check Bandcamp for the details.
Teases and Dares 
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