Photo Credit: Sam Wisenberg

At long last, Eggy have returned to the limelight with the announcement of ‘Waiting Game,’ the band’s sophomore studio album. Due to release on September 6 via the band’s independent imprint Lazy Egg, the beloved jam quartet’s forthcoming record shows the group pushing out towards bold new hybrid sounds, enriching its bright and funky improvisation-forward style with strains of indie rock, R&B and Americana. To introduce this new chapter, the band has shared “Laurel,” the band’s second single to be produced by White Denim’s James Petralli.

“Laurel” stands against Eggy’s broader catalog in its embrace of a new sort of song structure, foregoing extended instrumental runs for polished pop-rock perfection. A rough-and-tumble country-inflected lead guitar leads the charge, towing a tight, toe-tapping groove complete with vamping keys and soaring choruses. The sunny, bounding track wears Petralli’s influence well, with the same full-yet-reserved instrumentation, to-the-point songwriting and subtle Western tint that shined on “In A Moment’s Notice,” which the band released in early May.

In a press release, the band reflects on the creative context that gave rise to this bold new turn, writing, “This album is something we’ve wanted to make for the past five years, but funny enough, it only took us three weeks to complete. Planning for this project came about rather serendipitously, when Dani and Alex met James Petralli following a White Denim concert in September. By April, we had taken up residence at his home studio in Pasadena, sharing beds and sleeping on sofas in the control room. We didn’t see much more than the four walls of the studio, save for the three blocks that surrounded, the two coffee houses within walking distance and the single sandwich shop around the corner.”

“Being a band born out of a music scene that emphasizes the live rendition,” the group continues, “we chose to go against tradition and record music that had never been performed before. There was a sense of freedom in the writing process, that we didn’t have to imitate anything we had done before. Instead we felt encouragement to lean into every creative calling, push our own boundaries, and discover our limitations.”

Petralli echoes this pioneering sentiment in a statement of his own, writing “I loved this process with them. They were open and refreshingly communicative with one another. Each of them was committed to making their best work together. They were willing to dig deep and honor the small details in their writing and then in the recording. They were willing to disregard conventions and take risks as well… I love these boys. They love one another and they love their music. It’s a wonderful thing to behold.”

Waiting Game is available to pre-order now. In advance of its September release, the road warriors will cross the country with a hotly anticipated summer festival run and six-show series supporting Umphrey’s McGee. For tickets and more information, visit https://eggymusic.com/tour. 

Listen to “Laurel” below.