For many of us ‘indie pop devotees’ little we care about innovation, but as in an art film, are the references from ‘timeless’ sounds of the past that intrigue us and the way the various elements are combined through freshness and artistry into infectious, sometimes noisy, melodies that effortlessly and inexorably seep their way into our ears, quietly permeating and hitting all our vital pleasure centers, leaving us defenceless and inevitably overwhelmed. On a weekly basis, I still enjoy songs that give me those peerless sensations, as with the present band.
Fine purveyors of great guitar pop, French 4-piece EggS burst into my attention with a brilliant debut 4-track S/T EP at the very end of last year via independent label Howlin’ Banana Records, mostly influenced by Sarah Records’ bands, Television, Guided by Voices, early Creation Records and Velvet Underground’s minimal pop.
Part of the fervent, burgeoning Parisian underground rock scene, along with Bootchy Temple, Entracte Twist, Belmont Witch and label-mate Special Friend, the quartet is going from strength to strength with a soon to be released 2-track 7″ single “A Certain Smile / Picture Book”, through Howlin Banana, co-released with Permanent Freak and Hellzapoppin Records.
A cold reception of ignorance and bliss brings steamy fantasies of hidden lust lurking behind the fear of losing one’s identity in the basking beauty buried beneath “A Certain Smile.”
A moving and emotionally intense ballad, exuding late 70s/80s Flying Nun vibes with intoxicating and searing jangly guitar melodies that strum, shimmer, and swell throughout, underpinned by solid drums and flavored by a wealth of dizzying harmonies and oodles of melancholic hooks, as scuffling disaffected vocals infused with inebriated confidence masking shy insecurity underlie heartache, pain and ultimately healing.
“A Certain Smile” struck the fine balance of heavily addictive pop inflexions, entrancing rhythms and heady guitar work with imaginative melodic twists.
Surely revivalists, but with huge talent.
Check out the video for the more up-tempo and keyboard-laden, yet equally effective B-Side, “Picture Book”, made of footage taken from a documentary on French rock music in 1986.
2-track 7″ single “A Certain Smile / Picture Book” is due July 12th, 2019, through Howlin Banana, co-released with Permanent Freak and Hellzapoppin Records.
