20 years ago today saw the release of the second Eels album Electro Shock Blues. Mark Everett (aka E) wrote the bleak and brilliant album following his sister's suicide and his mother's battle with terminal lung cancer. Many of the record's songs deal with his response to their passing and coming to terms with suddenly becoming the only living member of the Everett family (until the birth of his son Archie a few years ago).Listen to the album in full below via YouTube. If you appreciate the music, go out and buy yourselves a copy, and support the artists.
Though much of the album is, on its surface, bleak, its underlying message is that of coping with some of life's most difficult occurrences. The record's many highlights include the laugh out loud black humor of 'Cancer For The Cure' ("grandpa's happy watching video porn, with the closed caption on and father knows best... about suicide and smack"), the wondrous '3 Speed', and the sad, beautifully yearning 'Climbing To The Moon'. Stunning lead single 'Last Stop: This Town' is simply one of the best songs of the era. Featuring an irresistibly sweet music box-like hook that carries the track, it imagines the departed as spirits flying over neighbourhoods and cities, able to see everything below them in a way that the living can't. Well, that's how I see it anyway. Despite the song's tragic background, it has a joyous vibe and comes with a humorous video featuring animated singing vegetables. Typical Eels, balancing the sadness with joy.
The closing 'P.S. You Rock My World' signals light at the end of the tunnel: "I was thinking about how everyone was dying, and maybe it's time to live"
The latest Eels album 'The Deconstruction' was released earlier this year.
