Leeds & The Nightlights’ Latest Is A “Good Egg” Of An Album

Courtesy: Joanie Leeds/Zameret Music/BMI/Limbostar

Singer/songwriter Joanie Leeds and her band mates The Nightlights will release their fourth full length studio album this Summer.  The album, which is slated to be released June24th, is a *ahem* “good egg” of an album.  Yes, that bad pun was fully intended.  Fans will find it interesting to note that this Kickstarter funded album, scheduled to be released June 24^th, will be released nearly a year to the day after the band’s previous album, Bandwagon.  Good Egg boasts a total of fifteen songs.  And throughout the course of those songs, Leeds and her band mates offer up quite the musical and lyrical mix.  From an opener about the time honored tradition of the lunchroom food fight to a funky little piece about a drummer named Dan to a beautiful, moving lullaby of sorts being sung to a baby in the womb and more, this album offers listeners so much to enjoy.

Leeds and her band mates open Good Egg on a fun note with a song about one of the greatest childhood rituals of all time—the lunchroom food fight.  In the case of ‘Food Fight,’ Leeds writes about an unnamed boy that alleged he was wrongly accused of having started a food fight.  She writes, “My brother got in trouble at school/Grounded for breaking the lunch-time rule/He said it’s not his fault/It was some other fool who started it/Claimed he was walking with his plastic tray/When he tripped and his applesauce flew away/Right on Jimmy Walker!/The biggest kid’s head.”  What follows is the traditional food fight.  Leeds and her band mates make visualizing the impending scene so simple thanks to such vivid descriptions of food flying everywhere.  She writes about “peas and carrots flying through the air/Tater tots and mustard getting in the hair/Chocolate milk and pudding going in every direction.”  Who hasn’t seen a scene such as this?  It is certain to leave listeners of all ages in stitches as Leeds and company keep the energy flowing throughout the poppy, up-tempo piece. This is just the beginning of the fun offered by the band, too.

‘Food Fight’ is a good first impression for Leeds and her band mates on their latest release.  It’s just the start of the album’s fun, too.  Just as much is the band’s song celebrating the real heart of any band in ‘Drummer Dan.’ The song is centered around an old school funk sound that will have listeners of every age dancing.  And that’s just the start of what makes this song so fun.  Drummers are typically the butt of far too many jokes.  So for Leeds to rhyme about a drummer in such celebratory fashion is a breath of fresh air for drummers of any age, this drummer included.  Leeds writes in the song’s second verse, “That crazy drummer was SOO smooth/I could not believe how fast his arms moved/Kinda like an octopus with mad style/He be rocking those drums with a handsome smile.”  Such a show of respect for drummers is especially a breath of fresh air primarily because of how little respect drummers get.  It is just as much a breath of fresh air because such a celebration of drummers set against an equally fun and funky beat could potentially influence young listeners to give drums a chance.  To that extent, this song becomes and even more invaluable addition to Good Egg.

Both ‘Drummer Dan’ and ‘Food Fight’ are equally invaluable additions to Good Egg.  Both make the fan-funded album enjoyable in their own way.  They are both enjoyable additions to the album.  The same can be said of the album’s other tracks in their own right, too.  Of those other tracks, there is one that stands head and shoulders above the others.  That track is the album’s closer, ‘I Love You.’  It is a perfect way to close out the album in every sense of the term. Most interesting to note about this piece is that despite the beautiful, touching lyrics and simple musical backing, it doesn’t come across nearly as overly emotional as some similar works from other artists. It’s just a happy, hopeful song of the future. It is still almost certain to leave listeners crying tears of joy as Leeds sings, “I am dreaming of the day/When I’ll put my arms around you/Cradle/Softly/Sing so sweetly/While rocking I will tell you/You may not believe it/You’re not even on this earth yet/Showing you is hard to prove/But I feel it/I love you.” After all the fun and energy exuded by the songs leading up to this touching finale, it seems fitting, almost like a story told in reverse through music. It could be argued that it’s all a mother dreaming of everything that is to come for her child, and it all culminates with this one final song. Sure, it might be a bit of a stretch. But it’s just as much a viable possibility, too even if it is unintentional. That being the case, it is one more wonderful reason for fans of Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights to check out the band’s new album when it becomes available next month.

Joanie and company will hit the road in support of their new album beginning June 7^th in Burnsville, Minnesota. That show will be followed up by a gig in L.A. on June 21^st and a CD release show June 24^th in New York. Audiences can check out the band’s full tour schedule online now at http://www.joanieleeds.com. While there, fans can also order the band’s new CD. Audiences can also get all the latest from the band through its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joanie-Leeds-The-Nightlights/169340443114091. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.