"Easy Pieces" is the second studio album by the British rock and pop band Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, released on November 22, 1985, by Polydor Records. The album included the hit singles "Brand New Friend" (#19 in the UK), "Lost Weekend" (#17 in the UK), and "Cut Me Down" (#38 in the UK). The title of the album was inspired by the 1970 American drama film Five Easy Pieces, which Cole described as one of his favorite films, saying, "I want to write at least five songs out of that film."
Following the success of their debut album Rattlesnakes in 1984, Easy Pieces became the band’s fastest-selling album, with more sales in its first two weeks than Rattlesnakes had in an entire year. The album also became their highest-charting in the UK, peaking at number 5. Despite the commercial success, Easy Pieces received a lukewarm critical reception, and the band was not entirely happy with the final product. Cole later remarked, "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." Bassist Lawrence Donegan described the album simply as "terrible."
The band aimed for Easy Pieces to be more accessible than Rattlesnakes, with Cole stating that they wanted the sound to be "warmer, more luscious." The lead single, "Brand New Friend," was described by Cole as about a character who feels pitifully aware of his own unhappiness but is unsure of how to fix it, mixed with a touch of self-mockery. However, Cole later disowned certain songs on the album, criticizing tracks like "Grace" and "Minor Character," the latter of which he called "the worst lyric ever written." He admitted to having delusions of being a "Raymond Carver of song" when writing it, calling it "truly appalling."
The recording process for Easy Pieces was fraught with difficulties. After the success of Rattlesnakes, the band’s relationship with their record company became more complicated. Unlike the first album, when Polydor had largely left the band to work freely, they now took a more active interest in the band's progress. The initial recording sessions were not fruitful, and the band parted ways with producer Paul Hardiman, who had worked on Rattlesnakes, bringing in Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley as replacements. Langer and Winstanley, known for their work with bands like Madness and Elvis Costello, were more hands-on in the studio, offering suggestions that the band didn’t always agree with. Cole was particularly self-conscious about their demand for him to control his vibrato, which he had no control over, making him feel insecure about his natural singing style. Reflecting on the experience years later, Cole admitted that the band felt pressured to produce a follow-up quickly, and that they hadn’t given themselves enough time to reflect and create a more thoughtful record. "The record company was telling us 'this is your moment and you must take it now' – which is crap," Cole said. "People would have waited for us. We were insecure, so we made the record too soon."
