Track Listing

1. Wall
2. Funky Dube
3. Walking Away
4. Venice Beach
5. Say You Will
6. Forwards
7. She's Terrific
8. Always There
9. Walk on the Snow
10. Angel of my Soul
11. Lost At Sea

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57536 in Music
• Released on: 2004-08-16
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

At last!
How long have I been waiting for this album? 5 years? Dropped by Warner Brothers after the evil multinational had bought up and asset-stripped China Records, the band broke up... then they were finally back with a new line-up, some wonderful live shows every bit as good if not better than before, and then, a few weeks before the album was due out, their new record company, Bar de Lune, went bust. How frustrating is that?

Well, after all that, the album is here, and it is both familiar and significant progress from their last one (Travelator - released in the last millenium!). Ned Scott's sweeping synths that just open up your heart are still there, the spiky, funky drumming of twin-brother, Maff, is harder and funkier than ever. But where the deep geometric bass-lines of Dave Gaydon and the urgent, choppy guitar of Mark Revell used to be, there are a welter of guest musicians, strange vocal samples, more adventurous electronic stuff, and real songs. Yes, there is far more of a pop sensibility on display here, and a noticeable drift to a more urgent electroclash sound.

The sweeping melancholy chill of 'Lost at Sea' and contrasting summery vibe of 'Venice Beach' will already be familiar to many, but it's the new and unfamiliar tracks that really stand out here - the opener, 'Wall', has a chiming guitar that recalls U2 at their best, but the insistent bass throb and gentle vocals are pure New Order - however the combination is something other than either. 'She's Terrific' and 'Always There', hum with live energy, the latter with a 'story' running through it like Travelator's 'Getting Away With It', and the former with grin-inducing samples apparently found on a tape in Thailand.

I could go on, but there is not a duff track on the album. There was no-one like The Egg in the 1990s, and there is still no-one like them now. Still way ahead of the game, this is the highest quality, post-rock, post-dance, post-chill, post-everything music that constanting keeps surprising you with it's lack of respect for any genre boundaries, and just keeps on moving, well... forwards.

Moments of sheer sonic bliss!!!
This is the only album that has stayed in my cd changer for more than six months - ever! I just dont get tired of listening to the first six tracks.
To my mind this has to be one of the most underated albums of the last decade, and still remains a largely undiscovered gem. The best of the tracks EASILY rival the best on Air's Moon Safari album, and taken as a whole, I find it consistantly better by far. The only marks against it are due for tracks seven onwards, which just dont do it for me. But to be honest the first half is so good that I havent got the heart to give it less than five stars.
Each of the tracks hit a moment of sheer sonic bliss, that still knocks my socks off, even after a couple of hundred plays. Listen to them five times so they get under your skin, and you will love them.
Hey - just buy the dam thing - its superb music.

Great new stuff - worth the wait
For fans of previous Egg albums, this one has been a while coming. The style has changed somewhat since "Travelator" but there's still some smatterings of old-style Egg tracks.
The musical styles are more mixed in the new offering. They range from the "chill out" sound of Venice Beach to upbeat tracks like Funky Dub.
Forwards also brings the energy and humour of previous Egg albums. "She's Terrific" is a riot of a track which brings back memories of "Hey Billy" from Travelator and is one of the album's big winners.
It was a long time coming and fans of The Egg will not be disappointed.