The Egg - Albumen (1996) LP

The Egg reach the first critical "put up or shut up" stage with the release of their debut, albumen -- this is the point at which they'll either become prominent players in the burgeoning electronic pop music movement or simply end up anonymously lumped into the category of "just another electronic band." What save the Egg from such categorization is the sheer variety of their electronic constructions. It's quite a stylistic smorgasbord -- the listener is dashed around from progressive rock into wicked hard-funk grooves, then disco-tronics into progressive jazz-rock, all buggywhipping into and out of free-time, free-jazz bass and drum breaks. And it all happens so fast, you seriously have to pay attention to keep up with everything whizzing by; comparions of the Egg to the embryonic days of Pink Floyd are founded in the closer "284 windows and a door," which echoes Floyd's "Arnold Layne" days with Syd Barrett. The eclectic "bend," the beat-crazy "jam tomorrow," "roche," "shopping" and "shoplifting" all are standouts.