Easy Pieces by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

Easy Pieces is the second album by the British band Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. It was released on Polydor Records in the UK on 22 November 1985 and included the hit singles "Brand New Friend" (#19 in UK), "Lost Weekend" (#17 in UK) and "Cut Me Down" (#38 in UK). The title of the album derives from the film Five Easy Pieces, which Cole described as "one of my very favourite films", saying, "I want to write at least five songs out of that film".Following the praise and healthy sales of their debut album Rattlesnakes the previous year, Easy Pieces became the band's fastest-selling album, selling more in its first two weeks than Rattlesnakes had managed in a whole year. It was also their highest charting album in the UK, peaking at number 5, aided by three top 40 singles. However, despite Easy Pieces' commercial success, the reception from critics was lukewarm and the band themselves were unhappy with the end result. Cole would later say, "It strikes me that there's something really fresh on the first album which has been dragged onto the second album, and the freshness is not there and something to replace the freshness is not there either". Bass player Lawrence Donegan was more succinct, describing the album as "terrible".