Extreme witchcraft indeed

 

Ever since the mid-1990’s, Mark Oliver Everett — a.k.a. E, a.k.a. Eels — has been a constant fixture in our (indie) lives. For anyone old enough to have been a teenager then (that includes this writer), “Novocaine for the Soul” was a shot in the arm — even though that’s not actually recommended. Since then, the man has continuously been walking his highly distinctive road, shelling out gems along the way, including 2009’s effortless yet incredible “That Look You Give That Guy“. In 2020, his thirteenth album Earth to Dora came with the sweet and melodic “Are We Alright Again”, featuring none other than Don Draper himself in the video. And now this…

Produced with John Parish, a musician E had not collaborated in 20 years (also a long time PJ Harvey producer), 2022’s Extreme Witchcraft is a return to the rawness of the artist’s early days — considering he ever really diverged from that space. Granted, Eels’ entire discography is eminently “crafty”, if that’s a word pertinent to qualify the immediacy and lo-fi nature that made this voice such a distinctive one. In a way, it mirrors that of Jack White, with White being both somewhat more blues rock-oriented — and a tad more commercial… The point is, you can feel both artists’ presence in every song they every put out, both of their sounds being eminently “analog”, to use another word that may actually make more sense in this context…

In any event, this new album is essentially a collection of super-tight, artfully crafted indie rockers. Well, not all are as heavy as that — “Strawberries and Popcorn” is essentially a pop track, albeit with a folk twist — but most songs in here are indeed rock-infused. Take lead singles “Good Night on Earth” and “The Magic”: both are almost canon blue rock tunes, with that inevitable E touch — striking keyboard harmonies on the latter, multiple mood changes on the former. Even “What It Isn’t” starts almost like a Beatles-esque melody, only to be disrupted by E’s primal shouting of a chorus. Finally, even the more pop tracks on there, such as “So Anyway” all have that tinge of darkness and/or moodiness that has been characteristic of E’s music since the very beginning.

Put simply, this album is a highly cohesive, well crafted set of songs that may necessarily have you jumping for joy — but definitely nod in satisfaction.