EELS
Hombre Lobo
12 Songs of Desire
Ever interested in knowing what a day in the life of a manic depressive would be like? Well, you're in luck. In the Eels 7th album, Hombre Lobo, Mark Everett (E) takes you on a musical coaster ride filled with high rigid peaks to low sullen valleys... then back again, six times around.
But underneath these ever so changing tones is one common theme. This Hombre Lobo"Wolf Man" that is Everett - or perhaps a character he created - is blanketed with only one thought, one strong intention, one detached feeling ... of desire. Yes, all 12 songs of Hombre Lobo are built around desire - every true, powerful and polarizing side. And of course this strong sense of desire in directed towards the wanting of a ham sandwich. Kidding. Just seeing if you were paying attention. It's of course towards a woman, his soul-mate, the finest wolf woman of the pack.
Hombre Lobo opens with Prizefighter the most confidant, self-assured track of the album. It's strutting bluesy chords and overly distorted vocals, offers immediacy and opens the gates of reckless urgency right away... Let the journey of uncontrolled emotions begin. The next track pulls the listeners from the top of the world to the bottom of the barrel. It's anything but what was exemplified in the song prior. In That Look You Give That Guy, E is looking up, instead of down. His jealousy is apparent. He would give anything to be the guy she truly admires.
It's an ongoing tug-of-war game from here on out. There's the one side of desire that holds an animal instinct. (This is when the listener realizes that the wolf reference isn't JUST because of E's beard**) Songs like Lilac Breeze, Fresh Blood, and What's a Fella Gotta Do have an intense aggressive nature to it. "Birds do it, bees do it. All we need to do is get down to it." This feeling of lust comes off so strong and forward sometimes, that you feel E is going to blow his cannon. - Tremendous Dynamite. The albums stripped down sound with thick bass lines, heavy drum beats and hot/distorted vocals emphasize this uncontrollable and frustrated feeling absolutely perfectly.
The other half of the Hombre Lobo displays the more sheepish feeling of desire. The more melancholy meager view. The onlooker. The side of hoping and longing. In In My Dreams, The Longing, and All the Beautiful Things the listener can't help but feel sympathetic towards Everett. He once again shows he can craft heavy lyrics, that stick in the mind and stick to the gut. E's usual Eel-esque acoustic strumming and cracking, light and airy vocal make his words ring genuine and sincere, almost painful at times. "But I can't think of one single thing that matters more than just to see her... her faults, her doubts. I love them all."
Perhaps the most interesting thing I found about this album is that everyone's favorite song differs from anothers. Is this because we all see Desire through different eyes... or is it just that we relate to these different approaches of desire depending on the moment: The initial interest - The overwhelming instinct - The lonely despair - To the general understanding... My favorite song? Fresh Blood for sure. I can't get enough of that eerie slow slide of the bass, the chuga-chuga-chug guitar and E's reverbed howling at the moon. It reminds me of a mad man's laboratory. Perfect for a Halloween mix. Placed right after The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck and right before Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London. My second favorite? The Longing. So I guess you know where my view stands in that sliding scale.
So I guess the final question is: Will the Eels follow up album to Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire be - 12 Songs of Happiness, 12 Songs of Loneliness, or 12 Songs of Ehhh, She's actually not all that I cracked her up to be...? I guess time will tell. But all Eels fans know, no matter what, that Everett will deliver the end result with brutally honest lyrics and a joker grimace of a smile. Because E states it himself "I'm no ordinary man... the only rules you follow are your own." So we would be foolish to try to predict what's next.
Album grade: Whatever falls between a C and C+Reason why: Besides a few solid tracks, Everett falls back into much of the same (sound). I do, however, think the mind sight behind this album is very interesting, and believe E does a great job muscially portraying exactly what his lyrics translate. Everybody can relate to this theme, and will find comfort in knowing that atleast one of these songs explains your situation perfectly.
** This is a side side note that is in reference to Mark Everett's beard. In an interview I read, after being asked how long he intends to grow it, E states ... "The goal is to grow it so long that I don't need to wear pants anymore." I found that hilarious.
No comments:
Post a Comment