The Lovely Eggs – Live Review – Leeds Brudenell

By Victoria Holdsworth, June 2024

As Holly and Dave take to the stage at a sold out Brudenell, we are treated to their unique bold, brash and ballsy stylings.

With barely room to breathe, they lash into the start of their set with a track from their superb new album, Eggsistentialism, with the outstanding ‘Death Grip Kids’, setting the bar for the rest of the night at the highest it could possibly be.

‘Witchcraft’, with its psyched-out guitar overtones, demonstartes their innovative, raw style, and has the crowd jumping from the off. Seems they are well up for a Lovely Eggs party tonight.

Explaining just how special the Brudenell is to the band, the crowd feels like they are crashing round at Holly and Dave’s for a session, such is the reciprocated love between artist and their audience.

‘Nothing/Everything’ and ‘Memory Man’ from Eggsistentialism are real crowd pleasers – fresh and exciting to listen to up close and personal.

The band are on top form as they steam through their set which covers tracks  old to new, constantly hitting the target with each. It makes them one of the best bands you could see live in 2024.

‘Magic Onion’ is hypnotic, punkily crafted, and builds to a great crecendo, which the crowd laps up.

It never ceases to amaze me just how full their sound is when it is just the two of them on stage, as ‘Still Second Rate’, from one of their best albums, I Am Moron, is pure punk pop heaven.

The transition between songs is effortless.

image: Darren Andrews

“Spellbinding”

Holly and Dave spend less time bantering with the auidence at this gig, getting straight down to the business of provding a complete balls to the wall set.

‘I Am Gaia’ is another well received newbie, with its gorgeous vocalised incantations of despair and defiance and thought-provoking lyrics. When Holly sings: “When you tell the crowd you’re broken, and they clap for more”, you can relate to just how demanding fans and the entire music scene can be.

The gorgeously uplifting ‘My Mood Wave’ from Eggsistentialism has a real retrospective ambiance to it, and will cover you in all its shimmery goodness. Definitely one of the standout tracks from the new LP.

Grabbing everyone by the scruff of the neck, and bringing them back to some more familiar older tunes, ‘Fu*k It’ has the audience in fine voice, singing alongside Holly ,nearly lifting the roof off. It’s closely followed by another anthem, ‘Wiggy Giggy’, which sees Holly transfix everyone with spellbinding lyrics and tones, all perfectly coupled together with some captivating drum beats from Dave.

The ever popular and amusing, ‘Don’t Look At Me (I Don’t Like It)’ is a joy to be heard live, and the thrashing guitair of Holly is the cherry on the top, filled with adrenaline and swagger.

Another new track towards the end of the set ignites the crowd further and shows Holly’s vocal range to its full extent in ‘I Don’t Fuc*ing Know What I’m Gunna Do.’ A pure punk fuzz fest, as the lyrics: “Take me from this one-horse town / All the plates come crashing down / Little beetle on a line / Tell yourself you’re doing fine” give a stark and surreal view on life.

We are nearly at the end of the set, and it only feels like The Lovely Eggs have been playing for 10 minutes, as the opening bars to ‘Dickhead’ from This Is Eggland ring out across the sea of bodies crammed into the Brudenell. It is powerful and relentless, laced with a subversive wit and charm, before ending on another new track, ‘Meeting Friend At Night’, with its intoxicating soundscape and lyrics. It sees Holly an Dave transform into psychedlic bundles of energy as they racously bring the curtain down on tonight’s memorable set.