DOPE LEMON: GOLDEN WOLF
By Jonah Van Bemmelen
The Vaccines Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations Album Review
As a big Dope Lemon fan, I couldn’t wait for the new album Golden Wolf to come out. The best way to describe the album is as a truly phantasmagorical experience. If you close your eyes, the whole album feels like one long dream.
The album starts with “John Belushi,” and you can’t help but notice the cool voice effect used throughout the song a recurring theme across the album. The track flies by in a super quick five and a half minutes and makes you want to listen to it over and over.
It rolls into the second song, a fan favorite: “Sugarcat.” This track opens with an awesome guitar riff and has that classic Dope Lemon feel. The next song, “Electric Green Lambo,” is another super cool track with fun riffs, but at just two and a half minutes, it leaves you wanting more.
The fourth song on the album is the title track, “Golden Wolf” easily one of, if not my favorite, Dope Lemon songs ever. With powerful lyrics that make you think deeper about life and an unbelievable ending that keeps you hitting replay, I find this song sticking in my head all day long.
The next song is my second favorite: a super creative track with a Japanese chorus. It ends with a truly captivating whistle solo that you can’t help but whistle along to.
Next comes “We Solid Gold,” a super chill, easy listen that leads into “She’s All Time,” featuring Nina Nesbitt. She provides light backing vocals, and the song (like the rest of the album) gives off chill summer vibes—perfect for a beach hangout.
The eighth track, “Maggie’s Moonshine,” surprises you with a saxophone solo and has a jazzy feel, stretching out to a relaxed seven and a half minutes. Another great song is the ninth track, “On The 45.” It continues the beachy, chill vibes and leads into a fun percussion section that has you stamping your feet along.
The final song on the album is a surprising one: “Dust of a Thousand Stars.” It’s a nearly eight-minute instrumental trip perfect for a drive, closing out with the haunting phrase, “I’m the dust of a thousand stars.”
Overall, this is an incredible album that any Dope Lemon fan will love and it will likely convert a lot of new fans too.
Photos by Jonah van Bemmelen
