eggcorn - Hitler Was a Vegetarian
The observer effect describes the phenomenon in which the act of observing changes that which is being observed. Bay Area artist, eggcorn uses the observer effect as the foundation for her vivid album by the same name. Taking an incisive look at the power that we have over ourselves and those around us, Observer Effect explores the inevitable ways in which we alter our own experience through reflection.
eggcorn is the moniker for songwriter Lara Hoffman, who released her first single in 2020 as a conscious step forward into her career in music, which until then had largely been used as a therapeutic tool. With her new album, Hoffman preserves the vulnerability of her self-reflection while crystallizing her insights into infectious hooks that make the most nuanced realizations understandable. Observer Effect pivots from the synth-based, electronic realm of eggcorn’s first album Your Own True Love to pop-tinged chamber folk that deftly cushions the uncomfortable truths laid bare within each song. Observer Effect is not an easy record and Hoffman spares no one, not even herself. A music therapist with experience working in psychiatric facilities, she possesses the ability to hold herself as accountable as she does those around her, to ask herself why she feels the way she feels, and to push the boundaries of songwriting into an uncommon dimension.
“I’m an asshole; I’m a bitch,” Hoffman sings in the opening of Hitler Was a Vegetarian, in which she reflects upon a fight she picked with her partner while drinking. The song becomes an unflinching look back at her own mistakes, such as lashing out or driving while inebriated. Here, Hoffman is able to call attention to her flaws, reckoning with the fact that she has at points in her life felt like a terrible person. “If someone were to focus only on certain aspects of a person, it’s easy to extrapolate that they are entirely good or entirely bad, but in truth we all have good and bad and we can all strive to be more self-aware so that we can be kinder,” she says. This examination of the human condition leads her to the startling contradiction that Hitler was supposedly a vegetarian and had compassion for animals. For Hoffman, who was raised Jewish and is mostly vegan, this is a particularly fascinating and difficult fact to grasp, and one that inspires her to peer ever more closely beneath the surface of the titles of hero and villain. “I am tender but that doesn’t make me nice,” she sings over the song’s spirited crescendo. “And I’m sorry and I’m sorry and it’s not fair to you.”
Observer Effect marks Hoffman’s first time collaborating and recording with a full band, in contrast with the production of her first album Your Own True Love, which she performed and recorded on her own save for parts from her partner and bass player for eggcorn, Kyle Stringer. Still, she had a heavy hand in crafting this record, tracking the more intimate songs at home and composing some of the string parts before bringing them to her bandmates Ali Gummess (violin) and Karen Moran (viola). The remainder of the album was recorded by Peter Craft at his studio, Boxer Lodge and Alex Doolittle at his home, each playing drums on the respective songs they recorded. Swelling into symphonic rock, “Phorest” features lush string arrangements by Gummess and Moran and poignant cameos from Brian Mello (lead guitar) and Ben Tudor (upright bass). Each musician adds their unique touch while arriving at exciting destinations through playing live and experimenting together. From there, Hoffman worked with acclaimed mixing engineer Maryam Qudus, who had previously mixed eggcorn’s song, “London.”
“I’ve always felt very protective of my songwriting. It feels very private and sacred and I’ve been scared to have other people influence the process but this has been rewarding both interpersonally and artistically,” Hoffman says of collaborating.
UPCOMING LIVE DATES
April 11th // Napa, CA // Folklore
April 13th // San Francisco, CA // Makeout Room
May 23rd // Oakland, CA // Tiny Telephone
