photo: Sam Wisenberg
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“The way we looked at this album is that we wanted it to be really true to the moment,” Eggy guitarist Jake Brownstein says of the band’s new studio record Waiting Game, the follow-up to the quartet’s 2019 debut Watercolor Days. “So at the end of the day, no matter how life continues to progress, no matter how the band continues to evolve, we’ll always look back on it and feel like it captured that essence of who were at the time. I’m sure it’ll still resonate with us moving forward, but the most important thing was that we felt like it was resonating with us then.”
The group produced Waiting Game with White Denim’s James Petralli at his studio in Pasadena, Calif. Given Eggy’s intent to create a record evocative of temporal passages, it is altogether fitting that their connection with Petralli was serendipitous.
Keyboard player Dani Battat, who became friends with Brownstein when the two were still preteens living in the same town just outside of New Haven, Conn., explains, “We ended up seeing White Denim three times in one week. We went to the Sacred Rose Festival in Chicago, saw them perform twice and then, a week later, we discovered that they happened to be playing near us in Fairfield. So we went to that show and we waited until everyone else got the opportunity to speak with James, then we introduced ourselves. It turned out, he’d heard of us, and he invited us out afterward for some beers and pizza.
“So it went from where we were just going to say hi to where we had the chance to really connect and talk about writing and all sorts of stuff. When we left, we asked James if we could send him a couple of tracks that we’d been working on. After he checked them out, he shared something online about how he really liked our music. From there, we asked him if he’d be interested in working with us. He had just moved out to Pasadena and built a studio. So the timing was really great for both of us. He was looking to take on some projects and we were looking for someone to take on our project. I think we met each other at the perfect time.”
Waiting Game also reflects a new juncture for Eggy because drummer Alex Bailey sings lead throughout the record. By the time in 2016 that Bailey joined Battat, Brownstein and their fellow Amity High School alum, bassist Mike Goodman, the trio already had a repertoire they’d developed over the preceding years.
Brownstein notes, “Dani and I had started playing together as teenagers. We loved writing songs with lyrics but neither of us felt like, ‘I’m the singer.’ It was more like something we had to do. But then as things started to pick up with Mike and then with Alex, the music I was listening to had vocal parts and melodies that were a bit more intricate and demanding. As a songwriter, I felt like what I was able to write was limited to what I was able to perform. But now, to be able to write for somebody else who has a wider vocal range than I do and is able to tackle some more of these intricate parts that I’m hearing, has really opened the door for me—and Dani as well. Now, there’s a home for the things that I’m hearing, and it’s made the whole experience of writing, performing and recording songs so enjoyable because it seems like there are no limits to the possibilities.”
Laurel
DANI BATTAT: I feel like “Laurel” was the catalyst for the whole record. It was the song that set the tone for what was to come.
Our friend and longtime collaborator Pat [Amarante] was living out in LA, and over the pandemic, he was doing a lot of Zoom and FaceTime hangs, allowing us a little look into his life. Then we sent that song back and forth over Google Drive, just getting the lyrics down.
There were some songs that had existed in some form before, but “Laurel” was the one where we were like, “OK, we’ve got something going here. We can build off of this.”
JAKE BROWNSTEIN: We’re such fans of modern music, the stuff that we’re listening to in our own time is everything from Kacey Musgraves to Fruit Bats and Phoebe Bridgers. We’re always trying to be in tune with what records are being made now. We don’t really subscribe to the idea that all the best stuff has already been created, and I think it was the first time that a song that we had written kind of felt representative of those more modern artists.
We always say, “The input directly affects the output.” So whatever you’re listening to is going to have some influence. We grew up listening to the Dead and Phish and fell in love with Little Feat and Crosby, Stills & Nash, so we’d seen a lot of those influences come out in our prior songs. But “Laurel” was the first song where the vibe from all this more recent music was starting to surface. We were like, “Well, I guess it’s starting to come out now.”
A Moment’s Notice
JB: “A Moment’s Notice” came together while we were all living together in the same house. We were all going to go downstairs to start working on the demo of another song, but in the nature of a band living together, it wasn’t as structured as it would be if we were to say, “Hey, practice is at 2 p.m.” and each of us would drive over to the rehearsal space.
So it was easy to keep kicking the can, and I remember somebody had something going on that was delaying our demo time. Meanwhile, James had texted me a video of the artist Dijon, who had done this really cool performance video of an album. I remember sitting on the couch watching it with Dani and we were totally mesmerized.
Then this feeling came over me like, “Whatever we were planning to do, it’s not happening anymore.” The inspiration was so strong that we went down into the basement, and I played two chords on the guitar, which ended up being the primary two chords in the song.
We opened up our lyrics folder and there were some words that Dani had written that fit really well. It was a lot of fun to make because there was this excitement of: “This is happening right now. It’s not necessarily what we’re supposed to be doing, but it feels so good.” The whole purpose of this record was doing something that felt good in the now, and it was so much fun coming up with that song.
Smile
DB: The mentality for this one was: “What would White Denim do?” I had come up with the main melody as an exercise on the keyboard because the way it’s played, I’d get to use all five of my fingers.
This was after we had just seen White Denim twice and I was like, “Oh, that’s like a lick White Denim would play. Well, what would White Denim do next?” That’s how I approached it. I also remember driving to that White Denim show in Fairfield with lyrics running through my mind.
Then when we went out to do a preproduction session before we did the full session, I showed James that song and he was like, “Oh, yeah, I know what to do with that.” So the main bit of it was there, and then it took on a sonic life of its own in the studio. In some of the more open sections, Jake was able to add things, like this whole middle bridge with a Frank Zappa-esque melody. It all came together as this harmonized Herbie-esque thing. It’s been really fun to play live.
Shallow Rivers
DB: “Shallow Rivers” is a good example of how Eggy has written music historically. Our collaborator Pat Amarante has been one of our friends since high school. A lot of times, songs start with an email that’s got a Google Drive link and it’ll say, “Shallow Rivers.” So maybe I’ll open up “Shallow Rivers” and he’ll say, “Yeah, it’s still fresh. Get in there if you want.” I’ll poke around at it, send it back and then we’ll go back and forth.
Then I’ll bring the lyrics to Jake or I’ll try on my own to put some music to them. With “Shallow Rivers,” it was all just lyrics until Jake picked it up and gave it some context. Then, once you get the context, it’s a lot easier to finish sculpting the lyrics because you know how the melody should go. That’s when it starts to catch a vibe more than just words on a page.
I remember when we were younger and I was working a desk job, I’d write lyrics at my desk and send them to Jake. Then I’d go over to his house and he’d already have written a song with what I had sent him. So songs have come out that way and they’ve come out where I’ve had most of a song done and I needed his help finishing something.
Ultimately though, it’s not until the guys in the band get it into their hands that it ends up taking shape and sounding like Eggy. I don’t consider a song done until it’s gone through the band and we can feel it out together.
Come Up Slow
JB: I’m always going into our shared Google Drive to see if there’s something that strikes inspiration. It’s wonderful if I have some words of my own that I can get going on, but I’m always looking for something, especially if it’s the first thing I’m working on in the day. It’s kind of the path of least resistance. You start to think, “Do I have anything I can start playing to see if that turns into something?”
For “Come Up Slow,” I remember sitting at the kitchen table with the acoustic, and there was a little bit of a framework. It was incomplete, but then Dani came down and I told him: “I think I’m finding something here.” So we collaboratively finished the song lyrically.
When we’re recording, we love the way that harmonies can shape a song. Adding vocals throughout can develop the song in a really interesting way—just the blend between vocalists can make something exciting. What’s also cool about harmonies is we’re basically implanting little challenges that we’ll have to figure out later, like “OK, you’re going to have to play this keyboard part and also sing this demanding vocal part.” We’ll look forward to practicing it later in order to work it out.
Anytime we’re implementing harmonies, especially now that some of the harmony parts have become a little more elaborate and challenging, it’s been fun. It’s like, “OK, we’re hearing progress. We’re hearing growth in the writing, and now as performers, we have something to work toward,” which is also really exciting for us.
Must Come Down
JB: “Must Come Down” is the anomaly on the record. A lot of the songs that had been written for this album started with me on my guitar or Dani on his piano. They were very stripped back, very lyric and vocal-forward, then we figured out all the intricacies later on.
At times when I’m writing, I’ll loop the chords for a verse to figure out what a bass part might be or what the keyboard should do. That way, I can step away from having to perform it myself in order to help me hear what the keyboard part should be or what the bass should be doing. That’s just for sections of songs, though.
“Must Come Down” was interesting in that it was strictly written on a loop pedal, just building throughout the song. It was a unique experience, and I don’t know what that means for the future of writing songs or if it’s just going to live in that moment when this song was written.
Later on, when we recorded the song, we were all living in the studio. It was a one bedroom. Alex was sleeping on a couch in the studio. Dani and I shared a bed for three weeks, and Mike was on a couch in the studio. I don’t think we left a three-block radius unless we had a gig. The only thing we knew were those walls and a couple of local places to keep us fed and caffeinated.
James was aware that Alex was proficient as far as running a session himself, so he was like, “Hey, man, if you want to keep working at night when I go home, feel free.” So with “Must Come Down,” we were working out these synth parts at what must’ve been 3 or 4 a.m. We were really getting into it as listeners, turning up the volume and just grooving on the song.
Then the next day, James came in and he was like, “Were you guys blasting music last night?” So we told him, “Oh, man, we totally were.” We had lost all perception of time, space and proximity to other houses. For the rest of the time there, we had to go outside with a decibel reader to make sure we were playing it safe.
But that one night, we really let loose. We didn’t know what time it was and we didn’t care what time it was. It wasn’t just about working on the music. It was also about giving ourselves the experience of listening to it and enjoying it.
Way of the Stone
DB: I think “Way of the Stone” is lyrically one of Pat’s most perfect works. It feels like it is the epitome of his brain. He’s a Dungeons & Dragons dungeon master, so part of his brain lives in alternate worlds that he’s created. With “Way of the Stone,” he’s creating this world that might be rooted in ours, but there’s also this timeless feeling. There’s a lot of folklore that ripples through it. Like I said, he’s a dungeon master who creates worlds for other people. He’s not just playing, he’s crafting. And that’s where his art comes in.
JB: “Way of the Stone” was one of the only songs on the record that I had already been writing. It had been around for a little while, so when we were going to work on a demo one night, I wasn’t sure about it. I was like, “Is this how we want to be channeling our energy?” It wasn’t because I didn’t love the song. Everything else was just feeling really fresh.
When someone once asked David Crosby: “What’s your favorite song?” he was like, “Whichever one I’m currently writing.” I think that’s the case for a lot of people who write music.
Sometimes, if it’s taking a little while to do something with a song, you ask yourself: “Why haven’t we gotten to this one yet?” As artists, we can be vulnerable and maybe think a little bit too much about things.
As it turned out, when we recorded that demo, it was a great experience and a lot of the acoustic parts that are on the final studio version are actually taken from that demo. It felt so good and later I was like, “I could relearn what I played here, and I could record it again on a better microphone, but I can’t imagine doing something differently than what I did here.”
Sometimes you go through mental hurdles as an artist for no good reason. I couldn’t imagine the record without that song. So it was a cool lesson for me as a songwriter and something that could apply to many things in life—just seeing something through to completion before trying to judge it.
So Long
DB: It was Jake’s idea to bring in Veronica [Stewart-Frommer from Melt] to sing on this one with Alex, and I think that reshapes the way it’s perceived. I say that speaking personally because it totally reshaped how I perceive that song, and I was the one who wrote the words. [Laughs.]
It’s definitely a breakup tune. Was I setting out to write a breakup song? Not necessarily, but as it was going, I was like, “Oh, I see where this is heading.” Then by making it a duet, that takes me out of my own experience. I feel like if it was a single vocalist, you might be too focused on that one person’s experience. But by making it a duet, it starts to become about something much bigger— realizing that a relationship has two sides to it. In the case of this particular song, I guess it’s mutual heartbreak.
That comes across better than someone just saying, “See ya!” I think the song could be perceived that way if there was just one vocalist, but when it’s sung together, I think it hits deeper.
Veronica did an incredible job with it, and I feel like she elevated that song to the next dimension. I couldn’t have told someone to do it like that because I wouldn’t have even known that’s how I wanted it done.
I’m happy that Alex sings it because I can step outside of it in some ways. It already filtered through me. So by being able to hear it in someone else’s voice, I can appreciate the song without having to think about what it might mean to me. I just happen to be the guy who wrote the lyrics.
Waiting Game
JB: I remember one day, we were in the kitchen waiting for Alex, who was working Uber at the time. We’re all friends, we push each other’s buttons and Alex wasn’t working Uber because it’s a passion of his. We’re touring musicians in an up-and-coming band. I remember picking up the guitar and going, “Sometimes I’m mistaken by the money I ain’t making” because Dani and I were like, “Where is Alex? Why is he driving Uber right now? We’ve got things to do.”
I think that song, for me, is also a little peek into being scarred from the whole COVID experience—being stuck in a house and losing some opportunities that were supposed to happen and then recalibrating. Of course, I would be the first one to say that ultimately, we had it pretty easy with COVID, in that we lived together and nothing but time was taken from us.
Still, I think the song is a good look into feeling a little bit stagnant and asking, “To get where you’re going, do you need to go through hardship?” I think “Waiting Game” was kind of a culmination of that period of time—not knowing what our next steps were. I was looking out into the future at the things that I wanted to see happen in my life, both musically and personally, and asking, “How do we make those things happen?”
Gentle Clown
DB: The demo of “Gentle Clown” was at three quarters the speed that is on the record. White Denim can be unabashedly rock-and-roll and James said to Jake: “Why don’t you try playing that riff as fast as you can?” Then, because he encouraged us to kick it into high gear, our energies were feeling like we were at a Weezer concert and people were bopping. James encouraged us to do something that was a little out of our comfort zone by seeing how fast we could play it. That brought a whole new life to the song.
James encouraged Alex by saying, “I know this is how you sang it on the demo, but…” He wanted to bring a certain emotion out of it, and he was able to articulate what those kinds of feelings could be. He was like, “Picture you’re singing this in a soccer stadium in Europe.” Now we’ve never played soccer stadiums in Europe, but we’ve certainly watched the Foo Fighters from Wembley, so we were like, “Oh, I know what that means.” We were living that experience vicariously through this song. It was so much fun to make, and it got everyone’s adrenaline pumping.
JB: We joke around that every time we listen to the outro of “Gentle Clown,” we see in our minds that it’s the part in the movie where there’s the montage near the end just as everything starts to come together. It’s either that or the end credits. There’s this climbing feeling of celebration, perseverance and joy.
The song pulls you out, then all of a sudden at the end, there are some weird sound effects and it’s done. It’s like the engine has turned off. We thought that would be a cool way to end the album. It’s been such a journey, but we are going to leave you with your thoughts, almost like it’s inconclusive.
Every show ends on a big chord and it’s like, “Thank you guys so much for coming out tonight!” But you’re not at a concert when you’re listening to studio music, so you have a good place to reflect.
We felt like that was a cool way to end the album, rather than slamming on a big chord and giving you that closure. Instead, almost leaving you thinking, “Man, what just happened?”
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