South London newcomers Little Egret make a big impression with their vibrant debut single ‘The Balance’ following last nights headline show at 93 Feet East in London.
Produced by the acclaimed Brett Shaw (known for his work with Gorillaz, Mura Masa, Foals, Florence and the Machine), The Balance offers a strikingly complete and mature sound despite being the band’s debut. Characterised by its swelling modulated guitar tones which give the track an edge over the lively danceable Motown-inspired drums, the intro is soon met with a infectious guitar lick that pulls the tracks forward into the verse. Topped with silky smooth, tightly compressed lead vocals which give them a stylistic boxy quality comparable to The Cardigans.
Energetic and dynamic, the single exudes a euphoric feel-good atmosphere while also conveying a sense of immediacy and sincerity through its vocals.
Describing the inspiration behind ‘The Balance’, Little Egret shared: “When we were playing the song instrumentally, the little pre-chorus, the ‘I don’t want to suppress it’ came really easy and just fit well with the build of the music. It led pretty naturally to the idea that I had emotions that I wanted to express but felt like I maybe couldn’t. For a while I had the song’s working title as PDA-ok in my notes – because it was inspired by a night out with my boyfriend and some other friends where they joked we were being too couple-y and in love. So when I told the band that idea, they got the vibe completely and we worked on bringing it all together.
Musically we were trying to smash together the sound of earnest and energetic early noughties rock with more modern synth-jazz stuff. We started with an old Motown-influenced drum beat, with those washed out opening guitar chords as the next step, and then filled it out with a bunch of hotwired guitar riffs, synth whooshes, and layers of echoes and delays and whoops. We make music because we enjoy it, so we captured samples of us laughing and messing about during the writing sessions and dropped these in too, to bottle that sense of fun and make sure it shone through in the track.”
Listen below:
