Eagulls – Ullages

So angry and vitriolic was Eagulls’ 2014 self-titled debut that there was a temptation to head for Leeds, make them a cup of tea and suggest maybe they take up a nicer hobby. A reputation for offstage antics and lurid ‘open letters’ only increased the perception that here were a group of lads who need to, well, calm down a bit. 

In truth, while that debut did move at breakneck speed, it was driven by a sweetly melodic post-punk bent; a course Eagulls continue to steer in here. As a result there’s a beautiful shimmer that covers this record in a pleasingly shoegaze haze that recalls kindred spirits The Horrors on magnificently echoey opener Heads or Tails. Elsewhere the dark sonic palette of The Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen seems to have been adopted on the chiming Euphoria which could sit comfortably on either Pornography or Heaven Up Here. Both blissful and bloody-minded, Ullages is raincoat-clad gift from goth heaven.