From Bubblegum to Sky's debut record, Me and Amy and the Two French Boys, was gloriously accepted as the shimmering and melodic pop illumination that it was. Combining loves for American pop with Japanese kitsch, Bowie and the Beatles with Pink Lady, From Bubblegum to Sky released an album full of "serene sonic textures" and a "sparkling, distinctive pop aesthetic."
"I think I was lucky that I grew up in Japan because the pop music over there was amazing. At that point I didn't know who the Beatles were, I never listened to American music. The first American records I heard were Kiss and Saturday Night Fever, '76-ish. Everything I listened to was Japanese, like Pink Lady and so on. If you listen to the Japanese pop music of that time, they'd always use a real orchestra to back up these singers and they'd play these disco-style songs with real strings and everything, so I think that heightened my sensitivity to instrumentation and quality of sound," From Bubblegum to Sky said.
So what non-musical entities inspired this sound that critics like to call light and sugary indie pop?
"My lyrics, especially on [Me and Amy and the Two French Boys], are super-bitter. They're all about work and how much I hate people. I don't know why it happened. It's kind of like Charles Bukowski's Factotum-its just about work. After awhile, work just chips away at you. So the songs are shallow and hateful."
Wait, that doesn't sound like the airy bubblegum response we expected to get. That's not what those pink ladies Mie and Kei would say. And there lies the genius of From Bubblegum to Sky: providing a sweet and sour balance so easy to swallow, that the listener (or even the most astute critic) doesn't question the medicinal value of this sugar.
"I have gotten a lot of reviews that go, 'I listened to this record and it made me very happy, etc.' And I think, 'Wow, you should listen to the words.' I think those are extremes that I like about it. I'm never really sure about how I feel about something, so I have to take extreme stances to express how I feel about certain issues," he said. But that is the fun of it. Without the concoction of tears and dance in your 8th grade room, you wouldn't have those Moz lyrics tattoed on your arm.
Mario Hernandez is From Bubblegum to Sky. It's a solo thing with a band-like moniker. "I chose the name From Bubblegum to Sky, because I didn't want it to be like a "Mario Hernandez" thing. It would feel odd for me to see my name on a record like that. I feel like it's a band, even though it's just me. The things that people are doing to me, or I'm doing to them, or whatever experiences I'm having-that's the band. I couldn't write without those experiences and in a way that's what a band member does." So after a successful first venture, the band is back together for a sophomore effort that is sure to show their three-year growth.
Nothing Sadder Than Lonely Queen is set to build upon the groundwork laid down by Me and Amy and the Two French Boys. Whether it's the soulfully refreshing nature of "The Gurls & Shoo Be Doo Wop" or the New Wave textures of "Sign the Air," Nothing Sadder Than Lonely Queen is bursting with catchy musical backdrops and true-to-heart lyrics. Charmingly fluid and musically diverse, From Bubblegum to Sky's second release is a summer vacation trip to his own personal island of pop perfection. The voyage to the island of pop paradise first departs on April 20, 2004, and the transportation is fit for royalty, whether they're lonely or not.
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