"Lemonade" is a single by experimental

Experimental music

Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...

 band CocoRosie

CocoRosie

CocoRosie is a musical group formed in 2003 by sisters Bianca "Coco" and Sierra "Rosie" Casady. The sisters were born and raised in the United States, but formed the band in Paris after meeting for the first time in years...

, released on April 17, 2010, from their album Grey Oceans

Grey Oceans

Grey Oceans is the fourth full-length studio album by CocoRosie and was released in May 2010. It is the band's Sub Pop Records debut since their departure from Touch & Go Records. The album has a different sound to former releases...

. The B-side of the CD contains a cover of the Beach Boys song Surfer Girl

Surfer Girl (song)

"Surfer Girl" is the title of a song written and sung by Brian Wilson for The Beach Boys. It was released as a single and it then appeared on the 1963 album of the same name, Surfer Girl. The B-side of the single was "Little Deuce Coupe"...

. While both sisters of CocoRosie wrote the single, the music for the album was also contributed to by keyboardist/composer Gael Rakotondrabe.

Background

In an interview with Metro New York, Sierra "Rosie" Casady stated that the inspiration for the album was based around "spooky memories from growing up in the desert." The sisters' common activities while living there was to "steal a car and go off into the desert and hunt rabbits. Just shoot them through the window while we were driving and take them home and skin them and make a big rabbit stew. That was a pretty dramatic memory for us."

Critical reception

James Reed of the Boston Globe said that Lemonade was a "genuine thrill" compared to the rest of the album, explaining that "after Bianca’s grim recitations, Sierra pierced the song with a gleeful interlude, her distorted voice making her sound like a psychedelic Judy Garland." Grant Lawrence for American Songwriter magazine exclaimed, "Both the title track and the brilliant “Lemonade” are beautiful piano ballads that deliver some of their clearest and most focused lyrics." A review in Qué!

Qué!

Qué! is a free daily newspaper, published by Factoría de Información in Spain. It is available from Monday to Friday each week in several regions across Spain.-History:...

stated that CocoRosie managed to "ignite the audience with their sublime song, Lemonade." A reviewer for music blog Stereogum

Stereogum

Stereogum was one of the first MP3 blogs. It was created by Scott Lapatine in January 2002 with a focus on independent and alternative music news, downloads, videos, and gossip. Stereogum has received several awards and citations, including the 2008 Plug Award for best music blog, Blender's...

 said that they "generally like the group best when they sound insular and emotionally naked but impenetrable and unexpectedly catchy. This one does that trick." In a separate review of the album, the same Stereogum reviewer stated that the music video for Lemonade is a "gorgeously surreal, intimately familial clip".

On the other hand, Dan Cairns of The Sunday Times

The Sunday Times

The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...

said that the song was a "lyrically opaque and vocally screeching collage".

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
French Albums Chart	74