“Scratch the surface / Make room for the new,” the members of Later. sing in Open the Gates, the first track off of their new album, Golden Bay. These lyrics anticipate what the record is about: a new project by the Parisian indie-pop quartet just released within the first month of a new year and that offers a more mature version of themselves to their listeners. Their sophomore album tackles issues like love, escapism, and the transformative power of music, which makes the ten tracks in it very relatable for anyone who’s listening.
Speaking of Golden Bay, the band shares: “This whole album was built like a trip. After our first album it was hard for us to figure out where we wanted to go musically. We never made as many demos and drafts – almost forty or fifty – for any release before.” As artists, it’s easy to stay in your comfort zone and feed the fans what they first fell in love with; however, Later.’s innovative approach to music-making wouldn’t allow them to do that. “Then, suddenly Paul played a guitar riff and we knew that something had been unlocked in our creative process, like a revelation. It later became our album opener, Open the Gates,” they explain.
That riff sparked something in them — a je ne sais quoi, that the French say. But it’s clear throughout the ten songs that make up the album. Influenced by gospel and rock, and blending beautifully organic sounds with heavy synths, the record finds a perfect balance both sonically and lyrically. In themes like Sinner for You and Hold On / Lean on Me, or even The Edge of Light, they speak a lot about one’s soul, God, light and darkness. It’s spiritual and profound, and it delves into deeper emotions that are hard to explore. While on Cold Touch or Baby, Come Over Tonight, they convey a sense of nostalgia and loss, something easier to grasp but still equally moving and relevant.
Continuing on the explanation about how the album came to be, the band members say: “We began seeing the picture of what we wanted sonically: prominent synths creating this levitating feeling, powerful uplifting guitars and lyrics that captures the almost spiritual high we get when creating music. Every time we hit the studio, Golden Bay became this sacred space — our escape where we could let go and liberate ourselves. Overall it’s a pop album, but it has this raw energy and carefree spirit that we wanted to preserve throughout the use of live sounds.”