Eggland then. A place where the Lovely Eggs have got a producer in (Dave Fridmann no less) and gone full Hawkwind. Which means that my friend Julie, though she doesn’t know it yet, has a new favourite album. Cos that’s really how a love of the Eggs should be passed on – rocking up to someone’s house, record in hand, saying ‘listen to this’, or sticking a few songs on a tape and handing it over with a knowing smile. They were always that sort of band and still are.
There was always a risk that a less DIY approach would sacrifice some of the duo’s ramshackle charm (if ‘charm’ is quite the right word for shouting “People Are Twats” and other such gleeful manifestos). There’s no need to fear though. Yes, there’s a more even feel to the lairy spacerock and the nursery rhyme singalongs have gone. But there’s still bucketloads of confrontational gobshitey fun to be had. Most obviously on Dickhead and Would You Fuck – which both call out the world on its bullshit as directly and only half-jokingly as ever. And the same sense of fun shines through the music. If you’re going to layer psychedelic sounds over your bratty guitar, there’s no sense in doing it sparingly. The kitchen sink has been chucked at this and it’s all to the good. For all their sardonic edge, the Lovely Eggs have always made songs that could brighten the darkest day and there’s plenty of that here too. Not least on the glorious whirl-around Big Sea, which is pretty much exactly what Californian indierocksters Rilo Kiley would sound like if they’d spent a week down the park necking Mad Dog 20/20.
So I might not be nipping round my friends, houses with this new Lovely Eggs record to make them have a listen. Not least cos I’m old and they live on the other side of the country. But I know that country’s Eggland and we’ll all be happy there.
The songs’ll be bloody great live too. They’re out and about in February. If you can catch them, do:
Thurs 8: The Yorkshire House, Lancaster
Fri 9: The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Sat 10: The Cluny, Newcastle
Sun 11: The Mash House, Edinburgh
Mon 12: Stereo, Glasgow
Tue 13: The Adelphi, Hull
Wed 14: Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Thur 15: The Cellar, Oxford
Fri 16: The 100 Club, London
Sat 17: Band on the Wall, Manchester
