Austin Town Hall

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It seems like not too long ago that we last heard from Eels, which is correct, as Hombre Loco came out in 2009, but we find E here on this album a far different man than where we encountered him.  End Times, as the cover art suggests, shows a worn man living in isolation; he’s a man broken by love, or at least we can assume it is he, as E’s always been honest with us in his writing.

When the album opens with “In My Younger Days” you find a stripped down Everett, naked in front of his listener.  He paints a picture of the difficulties he’s encountered overcoming loneliness in old age, something he found far easier in his “younger days.”  The sparse instrumentation here is one huge difference from Hombre Loco, as you barely find a percussive element in the songwriting, except for the full-on country rocker, “Gone Man,” which aside from the lyrics, is one of the weaker songs on the record.

It’s clear throughout that E is reminiscing with us, as if he’s casually telling the story of love lost; it’s a story many listeners will soon turn to in their time of loneliness and strife.  ”In the Beginning” tells of the honeymoon phase, where problems seem trivial, as you’re consumed by the romance of it all.  Unfortunately, the gruff vocals force the inevitable upon you, pushing you to see that in End Times things have clearly changed.

During “A Line in the Dirt” you find a couple at their worst moment, both afraid to be alone, yet knowing that the end will bring nothing but that very feeling.  It’s clear that neither character wants to be without the other, though they can’t find a way to make it work.  The juxtaposition with this song and “End Times” is perfect, as the story line reaches its climactic pinnacle.  The album’s title track draws the story to a close, at least the break-up itself, and there is no going back from here.

Throughout the album, you find a narrator who is putting himself on display for his audience, revealing himself during his hardest times.  It’s reminiscent of Sea Changes by Beck, where the songwriter meets with disillusionment and solitude, unwilling to accept his fate.  Yet, as the album comes to a close, we find E “On His Feet.”  He seems to have succumbed to the fact that the cyclical aspect of relationships coming and going is something we all must go through at some time or another.  While he may not have been willing to give into it easily, it seems at the end of the record, he’s accepted his faults in the destruction of his relationship, and he’s ready to be back on his feet again; he’s ready “to be alright.”

It’s hard to adequately describe the music in his album, as it comes far behind the role of the lyrical value, which is possibly one of the few faults you’ll find on End Times. The story is one that we can all relate to, which is perhaps why this seems to be an ultimately more personable record than Hombre Loco.  Let it be known that regardless of where life finds him, E knows his way around writing heartfelt tunes, and this album is chock full of them.

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Download: Eels – Little Bird [MP3]

Who would’ve guessed that Eels leading man Mark Everett would have new material so soon after dropping LP Hombre Loco our way during the summer?  Well he’s back and his band has another new album hitting stores in January called End Times.  Here’s a first taste of the new LP.  It sounds like… The Eels.

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Download: Eels – Little Bird [MP3]

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According to the group’s web site, or to the words of Mark Oliver Everett, this album attempts to hint at the idea of coming to terms with realizing that despite one’s best intentions, it’s difficult to live the life of a loner, or a lone wolfman; this is where the Spanish title comes into play.  Hombre Lobo literally means wolfman, so it’s no surprise that the Eels would tackle such issues on their latest release.

Really, when you pull away the layers, the album’s lyrical content comes across pretty straightforward.  You find the narrator in said songs chasing after his muse, turning to said love time and time again, despite his/her desire flee and go elsewhere.  In “Ordinary Man,” our narrator willingly gives into his love, realizing that this is where he wants to be in the end, ordinary man or not.  Let’s face it, it’s hard to be a lone wolf sometimes.

Musically, the album, is pretty much all over the place; it’s rather scatterbrained. It jumps from the opening barn-stomper of a tune in “Prizefighter” to “That Look You Gave That Guy.”  Opening the album you have the wild man at heart, playing his soul, and banging out blues-fueled riffs for the listener.  How quickly it turns, however, as “That Look..” is a much more somber affair, with the narrator begging for that same look.  This is is one of the more solid tracks on the album, and an illustration of the dichotomy that is Eels records.

One thing that always jumps out during the listening process is the similarity to a Beck song.  Take one listen “Lilac Breeze” and you will swear that you are listening to a brand new track by the hyperactive troubadour. Even the shifts in vocals and the usage of electronics mark it as eerily similar.  It’s always been hard to escape this comparison, and with songs like this one, it surely won’t go away.

While there are some up-tempo tracks scattered here and there on the album, it is generally the slower elements that bring about the more soulful moments in Everett’s voice. Keeping in mind the subject matter, he seems so much more fragile when you listen to songs like “The Longing,” and you can almost experience the sentiment just by listening to the emotional quality of the song. Faster, guitar-laden tracks just don’t connect in the same manner, which does tend to weigh down the album in parts.  If listeners could stick to the simpler songs, then this would surely be a wondrous album to spin over and over again on the record player.  Unfortunately, the Eels include their diversity as usual, leading some listeners to turn a deaf ear to Hombre Lobo.

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Download: Eels – My Timing is Off [MP3]

Mark Everett and his band Eels have a new single hitting the internet like wildfire today.  The new single is called “Fresh Blood” and will appear on upcoming album Hombre Lobo out June 2nd via Vagrant.  Here’s to hoping that this guy never looks on the sunny side of life.

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