More about: Eels

Mark Oliver Everett (aka E) is the master of the understatement. Anyone who’s bought an Eels record or read his autobiography can attest to the fact that E has a knack for writing about emotional turmoil - and sings about them like he’s singing about cleaning the kitchen sink.

It’s one of the reasons why Eels have made such an impression on many: they manage to make the worries that occupy your mind seem small, yet not unimportant. They have a magic to them that many bands fail to capture...hence why they’re a popular choice for film soundtracks. Their latest album Earth to Dora captures the style of their previous works, but not necessarily the substance. 

In typical E fashion, the press release for their thirteenth studio album was written in the form of an interview with John Lennon (death could never hold him back). Lennon’s influence can be found throughout, especially with an Abbey Road namecheck in opener ‘Anything For Boo’. However, the Lennon influence we get here is the heart-on-sleeve Lennon of 1971’s Imagine LP, and the impact is quite strong. A good majority of Earth to Dora was written prior to the pandemic, though the single ‘Are We Alright Again’ was a late addition, and it shows. Described by E as “a quarantine daydream”, the song is gloriously hopeful and emerges as the antithesis of cynicism. It comes early in the album’s tracklisting, and unfortunately sets a high standard that the rest never lives up to. 

There’s still a lot to like about Earth to Dora. It’s an album designed to be a comfort to fans in these testing times, and that intent can only be lauded. Lead single ‘Baby Let’s Make It Real’ is a success in combining the intimate piano with the infectious chorus it builds up to. We do get a brief interval from the light with the slimy and self-abasing ‘Are You Fucking Your Ex’, which is by no coincidence one of the definitive highlights. And ‘I Got Hurt’ and ‘OK’ however are, at best, outrageously passable.

Aside from that, the rest of the album feels bereft of that unique spark that occupied prior Eels outings. Take the previously mentioned ‘Anything For Boo’ for example. We’re immediately flung into a chorus drenched in reverb-laden guitar and honey-laden glockenspiels, whilst the lyrics meander into easy sentiments and conventional rhyming. If you happened to be playing a drinking game whilst listening, take a shot for every time E croons the word “boo”. A guaranteed hangover awaits you in the morning.

Elsewhere, ‘Dark and Dramatic’ threatens to be an interesting song for a minute before stopping dead at the middle of the road. The combined saccharine sweetness of ‘The Gentle Souls’, ‘Who You Say You Are’ and the title track (with the foretold doo-doos and bah-bahs) may leave you on a sugar rush.

Overall, Earth to Dora is full of empty platitudes: fine if that’s all you’re looking for, but Eels are better than this. Earth to Dora, albeit a lovely piece of work with the best of intentions, is an album with feeling but little character. Whilst it’ll undoubtedly please fans of the band, there’s nothing much for the casual listener to take home with them after the needle lifts. 

Earth to Dora is out now. 

More about: Eels