In a comparative rarity for Rough Trade in-stores, this was actually free, no purchase of an LP required. The dream. That wasn’t - to be clear - the reason Mahoney and I went. Well, maybe Mahoney. For me, it was a combination of Alasdair being in Birmingham for the weekend, a gnawing feeling that I should be doing more, and mainly that The New Eves are the support act for Black Country New Road when we’re seeing them later in the year, and I do like a good bit of advance research. It’s a bit touch and go, from the promo pics. This could be a bit “long white garment” folk, and I’m not sure, even for free, that I could do 30-50 minutes. The opening spoken word is not the most encouraging sign, but it quickly gets into a groove that actually is quite enjoyable. Every song seems to swap a new instrument in (at one point, the drummer whips out a flute) with a base of drums, bass, electric violin, and cello, and some fun playing with modern post-punk tropes within that. I will happily enjoy seeing them again at BCNR, and should probably listen to the album at some point. Minus points for the weird pronunciation of “astrolabe”, though.