‘The Egg’ is the new LP by Teletext faves, American-indie crew Shiner.

‘The Truth About Cows’ is the track chosen to open the proceedings. With it’s Weller-styled vocals and Brett Anderson *lyrical ingenuity, it’s a slow burning winner. Highlight number two is track three, the slow funker ‘_Play Dead*_’, reminding me of Reef at their summery best.

‘Teardrop’ glockenspiels and Eels-esque haunting vocals are used to ease the listener into the overlong, yet likeable drone that is ‘Top of the World’. Rhythmic tapping brings us to the title track, which is more of ‘Top of the World’, with a cheerier tone and shaking maracas juxtaposed with the trinket sounds of a tambourine. Track six, the impressively titled ‘Andalusia’, seems to be purely instrumental, for all of two minutes. Two minutes further on, I realise it actually is. Promising, but never delivering, with it’s slow charge of a guitar intro. The third highlight arrives in spot seven, the aptly titled ‘Bells and Whistles’, which is musically pleasing, with haunting vocoders and the return of a mournful Simon Fowler. Instrumental number two, the infintissimally long, (all right, it was eight minutes, eight minutes too many!) is followed by the repeat of ‘Play Dead’, ‘Spook the Herd’. This track contains more of the opener, with Alice Cooper *style guitar work, the trademark doom riffs towards the end. As the album progresses to the climax, the clear winner is ‘_Stoned_’, giving the nod to the Bends-era *Radiohead. With it’s plaintive chant and electronic detachment, it’s hard to see why any professional cynic would not like it.