Today, Lush release the 35th anniversary edition of their compilation album Gala, comprising their earliest releases – Scar (1989), Mad Love (1990), and Sweetness and Light (1990) – in reverse chronological order, plus two additional tracks (a cover version of ABBA’s ‘Hey Hey Helen’ and the extended Robin Guthrie mix of Scar track ‘Scarlet’).
+ Buy from 4AD Store here on standard LP, CD, and Deluxe 3×12” LP + 7” Edition Coloured Vinyl +
+ Buy on standard LP and CD +
+ Buy Bandcamp exclusive cassette +
Back in print for the first time since 1990, both the standard and deluxe editions are rounded out with 2025 Kevin Vanbergen remasters of the original tracklisting, and deluxe edition artwork designed by Chris Bigg featuring original artwork by v23 (Vaughan Oliver and Chris Bigg). Limited edition Lush merchandise (two T-shirts, pin badges, and posters) is also available for pre-order, exclusively via the 4AD webstore.
The Gala 35th Anniversary Edition follows the 2023 remasters of Lush’s three studio albums — Spooky, Split, and Lovelife; find more information here. Last year, Lush also partnered with the Criterion Channel on the release of A Far From Home Movie, a short film created by bassist Phil King and shared in memory of Chris Acland, which compiles candid Super8 footage taken by King during Lush’s tours from 1992-1996; available to watch on YouTube now.
“With their strumming swathed in electronic reverberation and other effects, Lush creates an undertow of opulent and churning harmony. Above it float Ms. Berenyi’s airy lead vocals and Ms. Anderson’s weightless descant, their chiming, overlapping lines calmly sketching disillusionment amid the maelstrom of guitars.”
– The New York Times (1990)
“From the early standout ‘Sweetness and Light’ to the swooping beauty of ‘De-Luxe’ to the enjoyable romp through Abba’s ‘Hey Hey Helen,’ Gala is one continued win.”
– Pitchfork [The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time, #8]
“From the twisting stab of ‘De-Luxe’, the controlled thrash of ‘Downer’ or the heady swirl of ‘Thoughtforms’, Lush seemed like the perfect creation, right down to the beautiful Vaughan Oliver v23 artwork.”
– The Quietus
Lush – Gala (35th Anniversary Reissue)
4AD0832LPXE
Sweetness and Light (1990)
A1. Sweetness and Light
B1. Sunbathing
B2. Breeze
Mad Love (1990)
C1. De-Luxe
C2. Leaves Me Cold
D1. Downer
D2. Thoughtforms (Mad Love Version)
Scar (1989)
E1. Baby Talk
E2. Thoughtforms (Scar Version)
E3. Scarlet (Scar Version)
F1. Bitter
F2. Second Sight
F3. Etheriel
7”
G1. Hey Hey Helen (ABBA Cover)
H1. Scarlet (Robin Guthrie Version)
Remastered by Kevin Vanbergen
Designed by Chris Bigg
Always in loving memory of Vaughan Oliver and Chris Acland
Jenny Hval, on Gala –
I first discovered Gala at a record store in Oslo, possibly in late 1995 or early 1996. By then I was already a devoted Lush fan and had listened extensively to their Split and Spooky LPs. The 15-year-old me had played the Hypocrite EP to death on my CD player. Yet this album was a revelation: My first ever compilation LP, just as I thought I had understood what an album could be.
A compilation of three early EPs doesn’t necessarily sound very artistic. But this one is. As a compilation, Gala is more of an essay in music form than a unified narrative or sound. It is a collage, a puzzle, not just hinting at what was to come, but what could have been – different directions. The track listing contains two songs, ‘Thoughtforms’ and ‘Scarlet’, that had been recorded twice, something that blew my young mind, as if I saw a glimpse of the multiverse. Emma Anderson’s Thoughtforms was first recorded for the Scar EP/mini album in 1989, and then rerecorded for another EP, Mad Love, the following year. Listening to both versions allowed me to become a teen critic: I started to question why and how the second Thoughtforms was both sped up and amped up in Robin Guthrie’s Mad Love production. I finally decided I loved both versions, but preferred the first, because it was slower, sounded freer and deeper, and Miki Berenyi’s vocals were given more space. The comparison gave me a deeper understanding of Spooky, the album produced by Guthrie in 1992. It made me question, or perhaps dream, of what Spooky could have been.
This simple repetition of songs emphasises the adventurous nature of Lush. The distinct differences in production between the three EPs showcased on Gala creates a playful, disarming album pacing. It also pushes Lush beyond genre, beyond stereotypes of «shoegaze», and beyond the 4AD aesthetic of the iconic, colourful logos and floaty, wavelike patterns. In retrospect, the compilation becomes both documentary and dream. It is an overview of a band existing in a specific scene in a specific era, exploring their music’s potential like the different arms of a star.
In retrospect, my favourite songs on Gala are the opening trio of songs (Anderson’s ‘Sweetness and Light’ and ‘Sunbathing’, and the Anderson/Berenyi co-write ‘Breeze’), taken from the Tim Friese-Greene-produced Sweetness and Light. I adore Friese-Greene’s work, and the glittering guitars, voice harmonies and dynamics create a sublime sonic canvas. But production aside, these three songs present a striking, yet understated, expression of sensuality. The lyrics sometimes float by, then hit you with a striking image («Breathe in green velvet, my lips taste warm earth» on «Breeze»), and the vocal lines intertwine, call and respond, come too close to each other and move away.
I listen to these songs today as I listened to them in the mid-90s, and feel the same things touching me: The effervescence of the sun hitting my skin, drops of sweat and saltwater drying on my neck, the smell of a borrowed, unwashed t-shirt and wet sandals after a swim. I listen to both versions of «Thoughtforms» again and dive into layers of sparkly guitars. Gala is intimate, yet stargazing, intricate and romantic, almost punk but with soft dissonances. It’s early 1990s impressionism. Make it yours.