I’ve been admiring the Lancaster, England, duo the Lovely Eggs from afar for quite some time. They’ve been at it for well over a decade and are perfectly molded for the age of internet-induced attention deficit disorder. Their songs and videos are fast, funny, charming and can serve to work out aggression in a matter of minutes, either by giggles or guitar distortion.
I fear over the years I’ve been doing those Lovely Eggs a disservice, however. It turns out they’re also skillful proponents of an all but forgotten art form: the sculpted rock album. Their new I Am Moron is a perfect 40 minutes of tension and release (available on LP, CD and download and streaming on most services). Their many videos show them as a cheeky guitar-and-drum duo, spartan and driving, common yet quirky, singing about liking animals, not liking being looked at, and, sure, love and loneliness. Holly Ross is a strong singer, delivering visceral anger over and heartfelt affection for little things and everyday occurrences quite convincingly. But she’s also a powerful guitarist, supporting well-crafted songs with punk energy, noisy breakdowns and sweet musicality when called for. Her partner in and out of the band, David Blackwell, is a solid drummer with quite a nice voice for harmonies or the occasional lead. All such elements make a sink into their YouTube channel a good bit of fun.
But the digital age doesn’t care much for staying on course, and the Lovely Eggs are at least as much an AOR as they are a WWW band. I Am Moron deserves to be heard top to bottom and then listened to again. It leaps from the speakers in layers, with wonderful production by David Fridmann, who has packed sonic, psychedelic booms for the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev and MGMT (to name a few) in addition to producing the Lovelies’ 2018 album This is Eggland.
I Am Moron opens with a techno swirl before stepping up to the two-count “Long Stem Carnations,” a melodic bit of power pop littered with bloopy synths, calling to mind Fiery Furnaces at their oddball best. That’s followed by a catchy dismissal of household implements, fast food, television and hallucinogens in “You Can Go Now,” another track so thick with syrup that it belies the fact that it’s a two-piece behind it. It’s not until the third cut that the multi-faceted Eggs give us what we’re waiting for. “This Decision” is a pounding, anthemic declaration of autonomy. It’s doesn’t matter from what Ross is declaring her independence, and I’m not entirely sure if she says what it is or not. As with the best punk songs, you can use it as you need it.
“This Decision” was the album’s lead-off single, followed by another slammer. “Still Second Rate” is as close to moron as the album gets (it’s really not punk in praise of stupidity), a pronouncement of pride in not being top-notch. They may have sung too soon, however. I Am Moron topped the British independent album charts in April, firmly establishing itself as a first-rate platter. Give it 40 minutes, give it 80. It is, as they say, a right corker.
Kurt Gottschalk is a writer, journalist and broadcaster based in New York City.
