 | Eels |
Eels, AKA Mark Oliver Everett, released this stripped down new album last month called End Times. The album certainly has its moments and at times really seems like it could be building towards something, but ultimately I think you have an album that has some solid tracks and some solid moments but overall as a full realized album doesn’t quite do everything well enough to be great.
He strays into folk territory and more blues-y folk jam kind of territory as well, kind of straddling that line between a solo-acoustic Neil Young and M. Ward or someone like that. He has flashes in each direction, and the album has a lot of heart and passion, you can certainly hear it coming out on the record throughout. It is not really a peppy album and is very introspective, and thoughtful. The strength is in the feeling you can feel from him on the softer and more pensive jams, and the moments of levity brought by the folksy/bluesy jams serves to break up the record’s pacing quite nicely.
While I think this is a record that does some things really well, it never really wowed me in one direction or another, and I felt like it was one step away from really catching my ear. I think that it has some great songs in there, and maybe it will just catch you the right way, as I know a lot of people are loving this record, but for my ear it just doesn’t quite get me all the way there in the end.
BV Rate: 70
Eels – Mansions of Los Feliz – From End Times
Eels – In My Younger Days – From End Times
