The lo-fi indie-rock of The Lovely Eggs has captivated audiences for nearly twenty years. Veterans of the DIY scene, the two-piece band includes married couple Holly Ross (vocals, guitar) and David Blackwell (drums) whose mix of northern wit, oddball observations and raw sound has earned them a deeply devoted following.
This year has seen the release of the Lancaster-based band’s seventh studio album Eggsistentialism. Their first record in four years, the recording process saw the dynamic duo reconnect with the Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Fridmann once again to create eleven tracks of punk-rock magnificence.
Gigantic Tickets spoke to The Lovely Eggs ahead of their tour to promote Eggsistentialism, to ask about the importance of punk ethics, the inspiration behind their music and why independent venues mean so much to them.
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The Lovely Eggs have enjoyed a cult following for a good long while now. How did you first start grabbing attention and why do you think you inspire such devotion?
Really have no idea about that one. Weirdly, we started selling out shows around the time our son was born in 2013, which was ironic because when you have a baby you’d expect things to slow down. But not for us! I guess maybe people are into us cos we’re taking it on. The whole way we approach our band is 100% no bullshit. And I guess this might be refreshing to some people in a world where we are swimming in it.
Everything in the “music business” revolves around money and everyone is trying to get a piece and we stand up against that. Against merch fees by the bigger, corporate venues, against unfair ticket fees and “add ons” by ticketing agencies, against bands doing social media sponsored posts. We just aim to create the world we want to live in and I guess our fans like that world and they believe in what we’re doing and want to live in it too.
There are obvious comparisons to The White Stripes and The Vaselines, and perhaps there’s a bit of Bikini Kill and The Wedding Present in your music too. But who would you say your influences are?
Probably inspired as much by art and books as we are by music. So that would be artists like David Shrigley, Edward Hopper, Joan Cornella, Wood and Harrison, and authors like Richard Brautigan, Castle Freeman and John Fowles. Musically, I guess we’d say we’ve a really wide set of influences from The Velvet Underground and The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band to Can and Neu! From Black Flag through to John Coltrane. From Red Crayola to Ivor Cutler.
I guess the thing that inspires us about all these artists is that they’re breaking new ground and pioneers on their scene, which I think is something we admire and are influenced by. It’s really important to be brave and do your own thing and don’t look around you at what everyone else is doing - just do your own shit in your own style.
There’s always been a deep independent streak in your music and how you release it. Why is the punk ethos so important to you?
Because it’s the only thing that feels right in life. It’s the only way we can sleep at night, NOT being part of it. Music is sacred but there are many parts of the music industry that are corrupt and rotten so to navigate away from all that shite, independence is key.
What’s the philosophy behind your new album Eggsistentialism?
I wouldn’t say there’s a particular philosophy behind the new album, but there are definitely themes within it. We wrote and recorded the album at a particularly low point in our lives. We had been fighting for five years to save Lancaster Music Co-op, plus we had a lot of added pressure in our lives on a personal/family level that made life pretty hard going.
Everything was changing and out of our control. Lancaster City Council slapped Lancaster Music Co-op with an eviction order in 2018. This was the rehearsal rooms and recording studio that had been there as a community institution for 35+ years, threatened with total obliteration. We had to fight SO hard to try and save it and it really took its toll on us. The council made it so difficult for us at every turn which really did make us question the local democratic process in our city and make us go a bit fucking mad.
The result of the last two years living within this world, being dragged through the corporate bureaucratic quagmire as a result of trying to save something you love is Eggsistentialism. I guess trying to save something you love is a strong theme on the album, whether that’s the Music Co-op or family members or a way of life that you feel you have a right to enjoy. At that time our whole world was threatened with destruction on a number of levels and we had to fight to preserve it so it brought out loads of themes of love and loss and loyalty and life.
It's a very reflective album and goes quite deep. It’s life’s eternal mystery… what the fuck are we all here for anyway? And this constant reflection on why we’re here, what the fuck are we doing, what are we trying to save, is why we chose the title.
“Nothing/Everything” is one of your best-ever songs. Tell us what inspired it.
Thanks. Almost all the songs on the album are inspired by life around here. Nothing/Everything is no exception really. After the shit went down with Lancaster Music Co-op we really struggled to get out of Lancaster with the band because we were constantly working at trying to save the Co-op.
It’s a snapshot of our life. And like a lot of our work it’s inspired by everyday observation and the stuff that goes on in our life. We’ve had a very sad few years. Tragic stuff going on behind the scenes. I guess “Nothing/Everything” is a documentation of the tragedy as well as an examination on how beautiful and magical life can be. It’s melancholy but uplifting. Which is like life really. The yin yang of the beautiful universe.
And the video for “Nothing/Everything” is incredible. How did you go about making it?
That’s entirely the work of the artists Wood and Harrison. We are huge fans. When we discovered their work we just fell in love with what they were doing and felt an absolute synergy between their art and ours. I think it was the comic tragedy of the work that really drew me in. There was a real darkness to it and I found it very metaphorical.
Their work conveys much bigger ideas about society and life than you might first think. And it was that element of their work that we really wanted for the “Nothing/Everything” video. We wanted it to be epic and have meaning. I contacted them to see if they had ever considered doing a music video before and would they do one for us and John got back and said they would love to and he just put it together.
He was amazed by how much of their work seemed to fit perfectly with the song. It was just one of those things that was meant to be and what they achieved with the video was to give the perfect visual representation of the song. We love it.
The Eggsistentialism tour sees you playing iconic grassroots venues in October. Can you explain why these independent venues are so important to you?
It’s the mindset, the mentality, the people. The venues and promoters we work with are all doing it for the right reasons and we feel like kindred spirits. Having a tight, loyal scene is really important to us. It sorts us from the other fuckers out there who are just in it for the money. These venues and the people who run them have got to keep going. The live music scene in the UK would be totally destroyed without them.
If you’re in a band and have been playing in bands for most of your life like we have, it becomes a part of your life and it’s the same with venues. Without them, we’d be totally lost and our band would have no meaning. Who takes pleasure from touring corporate venues with corporate promoters whose sole aim is make money? It’s not a good feeling as an artist. And we’ve learnt over the years that above all else the most important thing is the vibe.
Independent venues come from the right place, so do independent promoters, and that’s when it becomes a joy to tour the UK year after year. Because you’re dealing with good people and playing to great crowds, who don’t have to pay £7 for a warm can of Red Stripe at the bar. You’ve all got to try and build the world that you want to live in and independent venues and promoters and bands like us are really trying to do that and cut the bullshit.
Are there any other underground bands you’ve discovered lately that we need to know?
Well the last show we went to was in Lancaster for a showcase of new bands for Lancaster Music Co-op and we heard three bands we’d never seen before which were Limes, Rice and Morton Betts. It was such an amazing atmosphere and so great to see young bands building a new scene in the city.
Apart from them, of course the amazing Loose Articles who toured with us in May and the poet Violet Malice who again toured with us in May and is coming out with us again in October. Also absolutely love the new album by Daudi Matsiko. And the new Bodega stuff.
📆 Tour Dates:
- Saturday 19th October 2024: The Lovely Eggs - The Welly, Hull
- Sunday 20th October 2024: The Lovely Eggs - The Crescent, York
- Monday 21st October 2024: The Lovely Eggs - Waterfront, Norwich
- Friday 25th October 2024: The Lovely Eggs - The Garage, London
- Saturday 26th October 2024: The Lovely Eggs - Network, Sheffield