Eagulls - Ullages (New CD)

Whilst Eagulls” debut album was a juggernaut of a record, often moving at breakneck speed and intensity, it was also a deeply melodic one and underneath the heady fuzz and gushing charge of the guitars laid a band with just as many pop leanings as they had punk. It”s these moments that have been brought to the surface on the new record: dense, deeply textured explorations that recall the shimmering opulence of the Cocteau Twins and the ominous gloom of The Smiths and Disintegration/Pornography-era The Cure. Recorded during long days and nights in a converted Leeds Catholic church with returning producer Matt Peel before the album was sent to London to be mixed by Craig Silvey (Portishead, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, R.E.M), it”s as refreshing as it is exhilarating to hear Eagulls” Ullages as they continue to forge a fierce and prominent British voice in the world of music. This record is every bit as dazzling as it”s predecessor but it comes along with that most rare and treasured quality of being so in a way that feels new, whilst simultaneously remaining in the existing character and tone of the band. Never has the term ”sophomore slump” been kicked so mercilessly to death as by Eagulls on this album.

• Heads or Tails