Reviews > CDs

Eels : Wonderful, Glorious

Vagrant

Well-documented loner Mark Oliver Everett shaved away his Unabomber-look and established a working relationship with his touring group.His relationship with his touring ensemble is so strong he’s even allowed his drummer to write songs with him. Recorded at “The Compound,” his multi-floor recording studio, Wonderful, Glorious is still plenty desperate and dire, with a mania bordering on insanity. Thick, nasty keyboard lines crash the mix when necessary (“Kinda Fuzzy,” “Stick Together”) and throw the sound off its rocker. Everett’s lyrics settle on characters who’ve been kicked to the gutters of society with their fertile imaginations and thirst for revenge intact. So, “Bombs Away,” “On The Ropes” and “The Turnaround” sound like messages that would give intelligence agencies pause. “True Original” drifts gently as an Eels ballad until we hear that there’s a gun being pointed. “Open My Present” expresses joy, but it’s with a touch of Tom Waits-like
aggression. Everett counts his blessings, but it’s because he’s an obsessive.