"Lemon Glow" is a song by American dream pop band Beach House. It was released on February 15, 2018, through Sub Pop, as the lead single from their album 7 (2018). Accompanied with a visualizer, it was received positively by several publications, with several of them calling it the band's "most danceable track to date".
Background
Following the release of their compilation album B-Sides and Rarities (2017), the band announced the release of "Lemon Glow" on Instagram on February 15, 2018.[1] Accompanied with a caption read on the Instagram post as "Wishing everyone out there love tonight", the band stated that it would appear on their then-untitled seventh studio album, serving as its lead single.[2] An accompanying visualizer, in which Salvatore Maicki of The Fader described as a "groovy checkered visual", was released on the same day.[3]
Composition
"Lemon Glow" contains a "metallic [and] strobing synth line" that is heard throughout the song.[4] It also uses additional synthesizers and drum machines, with the song ending abruptly.[3][5] While being asked by Pitchfork about the beat running throughout the song, guitarist Alex Scally stated that it's a "shitty ’90s drum machine that we found in L.A. in like 2012", with a demo of the beat being titled "dyslexia".[6]
Critical reception
The song received positive reviews from critics. Upon release, several publications considered "Lemon Glow" to be Beach House's "most danceable track to date", including The Fader,[3]NME,[5] and Spin.[7] Named as "Best New Track", Shaad D'Souza from Pitchfork described "Lemon Glow" as a "new direction for [Beach House], with subtle changes to their distinct sound that signal a sharpening of the band’s typically soft edges."[4] Lauren O'Neill from Vice considered that it is "a little more foreboding than [they're] used to from [Beach House]" but stated that it is "a great new twist on their sound".[8]
"Lemon Glow" was named as the 10th best track of the first-half of 2018 by Cosmopolitan, who referred it as "woozy".[9]
