Century Egg: Little Piece of Hair – EP review

Century Egg: Little Piece of Hair EP


(Forward Music Group)

Limited vinyl | Digitally

Out now

Century Egg release their latest EP Little Piece of Hair today after recently signing to Forward Music Group

Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (as opposed to West Yorkshire) the four-piece blast their way 6 new tracks, following on from 2020’s We Can Play EP.

Little Piece of Hair, featuring the recent single, Do You Want To Dance, is the sound of four individuals, Shane Song (vocals); Robert Drisdelle (guitar); Meg Yoshida (drums) and Matty Grace (bass) coming together to create a contagious sense of joy.

At first, I was a little bemused by what was coming out of my speakers. The sound of the lead track is reminiscent of a 1970’s British Sitcom or Children’s Show (probably nothing like it but I’m getting a mash-up of the themes from The Liver Birds and Double Deckers) put through a C86 filter. After a couple of listens, it’s hard not to smile at the infectiousness of the track. It’s pure bubblegum.

This same feeling is highlighted by another track, Ring A Bell. It’s almost schoolyard nursery rhyme catchiness explained when you find it’s a ripping cover of Japanese pop superstar, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s first English-language song. The result is that it’s not dissimilar in sound to lo-fi British Indie stalwarts Bis or Japanese legends Shonen Knife.

Of the new EP and their approach, the band say, “make noise, be happy! It seems to work out like that for us, anyway,” cementing the fun-loving ideology behind the project. “These are songs about finding yourself. Understanding your value in the present and celebrating the changes life delivers. This is a collection of songs about dancing and being free and rediscovering the joy in music and our lives, despite the shells around us. Century Egg makes music to remind you to be free.”

Just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, along comes Riddle To Place. It lasts 1 min 17 seconds and is a brooding bass-led vignette which leads into the final track, Cornered, which was written during Lockdown, over email, as the band jammed ideas together.

I wasn’t aware of Century Egg before but now I’ve heard them I won’t forget. At just 16 minutes long it doesn’t outstay its welcome. This isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste but it’s good fun and addictive.

Check them out online at Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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All words by Iain Key. See his Author Profile here author’s archive or on Twitter as @iainkey.”

Source: louderthanwar.com