In my humble opinion, the Eels are one of the most underrated indie rock acts of the last decade or so. Taken together, the one-two-punch of Electro-Shock Blues (1998) and Daisies of the Galaxy (2000) provide one of the more thoughtful, sincere and affecting meditations on love, life and death in recent memory. Unfortunately, head Eel Mark Oliver Everett has seemed creatively tapped out ever since (with the exception of the very enjoyable memoir that he penned), though I’ve long held out hope that he would eventually find his way again as a songwriter. Well, I’m happy to report that after nearly a decade, a return to form finally seems within reach for the Eels. “Little Bird,” the first single from the band’s forthcoming End Times bears all the hallmarks of a great Eels song; if I didn’t know any better, I might have assumed that it was a leftover from the Daisies sessions. Give the track a listen and read my brief write-up at PopMatters.

In my humble opinion, the Eels are one of the most underrated indie rock acts of the last decade or so. Taken together, the one-two-punch of Electro-Shock Blues (1998) and Daisies of the Galaxy (2000) provide one of the more thoughtful, sincere and affecting meditations on love, life and death in recent memory. Unfortunately, head Eel Mark Oliver Everett has seemed creatively tapped out ever since (with the exception of the very enjoyable memoir that he penned), though I’ve long held out hope that he would eventually find his way again as a songwriter. Well, I’m happy to report that after nearly a decade, a return to form finally seems within reach for the Eels. “Little Bird,” the first single from the band’s forthcoming End Times bears all the hallmarks of a great Eels song; if I didn’t know any better, I might have assumed that it was a leftover from the Daisies sessions. Give the track a listen and read my brief write-up at PopMatters.

Nov 23 2009

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