London Egg, from New York are plugged directly into the energy of sixties swinging London and all the good things that went with those times, they also harness the later power pop of US bands like The Raspberries and suchlike to deliver fourteen original songs on their debut album 'In The Beginning....'
1. 'Turn On The Scene' is the album opener and it kicks off with a bang, thunderous drums and raucous guitar to start the album in a fine and noisy style.
2. 'Ricochet Beloved' is mid tempo with lots of staccato chords and a great descending chorus
3. 'Sister Deadmeat' has a darker edge to it than the other songs and it's chord sequences go through unexpected twists and turns.
4. 'Anniversary' is a great track, great tune harmonies and hooks, makes you want to hear it again and again, a killer song.
5. 'Fool Again' is a cool reflective acoustic number very simple, melodic and straightforward and all the better for it, a lovely song
6. 'Steal My Luv' is probably the heaviest track on the album, but still has great vocals and harmonies that keep it from becoming lumpen and stodgey,which is trap many other bands fall into when they try and crank up the power on a song.
7. 'Everyone But You' is uptempo and features some interesting chord changes welded to a classic descending chord progression in the chorus. There is a touch of the sound of Oasis in this song, but this is actually done with more panache than Oasis can muster.
8. 'Luv Me' quietens things down again with a slower tempo before it steps up a gear with a big chorus and thunderous drums, so there is a lot of light and shade within the song.
9. 'Sunnyside Gardens Park' bounces along and dips it's toes into psychedelia along the way without taking itself too seriously, a great song.
10. 'Imagination Rules The World' is another high energy song that cracks along at a fair pace but never loses the bands flair for harmony vocals and 'rough diamond' guitar sounds.
11. 'In The Garden' has great cymbal splashes and rolls a la Keith Moon to drive the song along behind another energetic guitar and harmony vocal workout, along with an interesting middle eight section.
12. 'Let's Motor' has heavyish insistant guitar riffing coupled with melodic harmony vocals to counterbalance it,
13. 'I Ride The Rollercoaster' has a punky- new wave edge to it with lots of cool stuttering guitar chords, stops and starts and some almost, but not quite, familar riffs, underpinned by pounding drums.
14. 'The Last Page' is a delicate acoustic led number with subtle string accompaniment and some fine acoustic guitar picking which close this very enjoyable album perfectly
London Egg are following in the great tradition of Mod, power pop, Brit pop, British Invasion or whatever you care to call it. What it boils down to is their songs are melodic, delivered with a strident rythmn added to which there are great vocals and harmonies. It's classic songwriting at it's best and you wonder how they've managed to squeeze yet more great songs from the genre. I hope that they have lots of success, because they're a cut above a lot of other bands working this genre as they seem to have an honesty and genuine love for what they're doing rather than trying to be clever or calculating and just coming up with some form of pastiche.
Reviewed by Kevin Wallbank of M100 and Honeyoon On Mars
10/06/08
