Black Bubblegum

Fun, typically subversive and largely memorable, Copeland’s latest work could be one of his most enduring, whether we were meant to hear it or not. Makes you wonder what else he’s got up his sleeve.

By virtue of its accessibility, Black Bubblegum presents itself as the most singular album Copeland has produced to date and who knows, maybe some pop bangers will be coming our way after all.

It's messy and crude, but never predictable. Nearly 20 years into his career, Copeland continues to make challenging and idiosyncratic music that defies conventional boundaries, and it's safe to say there's no chance of him toning things down anytime soon.

As with all of Copeland's records, surprising angles and intriguing touches are strewn throughout. But this is also an incredibly fun record, which is enough reason to play it over and over.

Black Bubblegum is Copeland's most surprising release for a long time; it's also perhaps the most obviously approachable record he has ever been involved with. [Aug 2016, p.48]

Even though the surface is smoother and and the vocals less garbled than usual, it’d be a mistake to read Bubblegum as a true unmasking. Filters swaddle Copeland’s voice throughout, distorting and distending it but stopping short of intelligibility; lyrically, he’s striking a tricky balance between deadpan nihilism and pop troubadour nostalgia.

For Black Bubblegum Copeland turned his ear toward electronic pop music, but in a typically oblong way.

The prolific producer is releasing what could be his most accessible body of work. [Aug 2016, p.73]

Black Bubblegum isn't the type of sprawling, messy platter of rhythmic noise that one might expect from Copeland, but it's still wacky in its own way.