Music: Eagulls – Leeds five piece are back with a new album & perform at The Great Escape

The Leeds five-piece were initially formed in 2010 by Henry Ruddel (drums) and guitarist Mark Goldsworthy (aka Goldy). They then recruited Liam Matthews on guitar, before Tom Kelly arrived on bass, followed by singer George Mitchell.
They initially acquired notoriety for a letter they published which comprehensively rubbished contemporary bands and the music scene in which they inhabit, something that George now regrets: “It was like at the time nobody really knew us. Even now they don’t know us, our sense of humour, stuff like that. It was like walking into a party with people you don’t know, with one friend that you’re really close to, and saying a joke that only he or she would understand. Yeah. It really backfired, and the party turned stale. Quickly.” he deadpans.
With a love of post-punk and ‘80s and ‘90s sounds in general, the Eagulls debut album of 2013 picked up a lot of interest, despite their name being a rather odd one. “It’s like a deterrent. Why would I want to listen to a band with that name? You know what I mean?”
Their new album, Ullages, an anagram of Eagulls, is a more melodic, slightly less punky affair, but which shows the band to be one with potential staying power. Ullage is a word to describe the amount by which a container falls short of being full, a term used in the pub and brewage industry. “It’s basically just another way of looking at pessimism and optimism,” he says. “You could look at the album just like most people: ‘it’s like the dregs of the bottle, or whatever’. But, it’s really a bit of both. It’s a measurement of what is left to either fill or what is already gone. It’s just a metaphorical way of looking at the word.”
The Great Escape, Horatios, Fri 20 May, 11pm