Wanted/Reward Offered: Mark Everett's Missing Muse
Oct 13 '03
Pros Some good songs, mainstream appeal, some good lyrics...
Cons Lots of filler and a lack of zing and zest.
The Bottom Line Just discovering the Eels? Maybe you should check out other albums before this one...
Full Review
Every band/artist/person suffers their fair share of ups and downs. Of course, in the music industry these natural ebbs and flows must be felt while in the public eye. Mark Everett (aka the Eels) peaked in the late 1990’s with a pair of outstanding albums—Electro-Shock Blues and Daisies of the Galaxy. Most recently, with 2003’s Shootenanny!, his creativity appears to be waning. And situated between those two polar opposites is 2000’s Souljacker—an album I really, really want to love but for a number of reasons can’t.
I love the Eels. In the past two years, I’ve come to own every piece of music that Everett has put to plastic. This includes singles, live rare releases, studio albums, and even “solo” albums (though as you’ll note the Eels is in reality the work of just one man) not to mention the fact that I’ve even recently been at a show in Detroit. I fully and completely believe that Everett is an incredible artist with an uncanny knack for creating unique music. Everett’s best music is that which is completely unexpected and new. His worst is that which is predictable and derivative of his earlier work.
Souljacker is good for a number of reasons. Take for instance the production. Production on albums from the Eels is always impeccable. There’s never any doubt that the man at the helm has a vision of what he wants his music to be like and has the talent to execute it. Also good is the fact that the album is more appealing on a mainstream level than some of the earlier works thus making it more palatable for new fans and those drawn in by early uncharacteristic hit Novocaine for the Soul. I also can’t help but mention a few songs that prove particularly motivating. Unfortunately for listeners the majority of these moments occur during the album’s first half—That’s Not Really Funny, Fresh Feeling, Woman Driving, Man Sleeping, and Souljacker, Pt. 1. These songs stand out among the muck and clutter of the latter half of the album because they exhibit Everett’s easy use of a variety of influences and instruments.
For title of “best song” I would have to point to Fresh Feeling. It seems as though the song has been pulled directly out of the same chapter as Daisies of the Galaxy. It is clean, smooth and lovely. And as with the best songs from Everett it simultaneously is quaintly gentle and uneasily off-kilter. Combining orchestral elements with sampled beats and Everett’s distinctive crooning, the song soars above all other offerings here with a funky-pop melody. And as with his best songs, the lyrics are poignant and intelligent:
Birds singing a song,
Old pain is peeling,
This is that fresh
That fresh feeling.
Words can't be that strong,
My heart is real,
This is that fresh,
That fresh feeling.
So with that said, the vast majority of Souljacker is forgettable. Remember friends, these words are coming from out the mind of a girl who completely adores Everett—not somebody new or ignorant to his other works. Souljacker is a pale, shallow example of the creativity that Everett clearly possesses and understands. As the disc continues it is increasingly lackluster. The first indication of this waning comes with Friendly Ghost (though I must also mention that album opener Dog Faced Boy isn’t exactly a classic). And while this song isn’t the worst of the bunch, it represents the point in time that attention will begin to wane.
The worst song of the entire album is either Teenage Witch or What Is This Note?. Both prove painfully challenging for similar reasons. The former is immediately troubling with a muted sample and an incessantly repetitive melody. As it continues, nothing happens to shake the song up. It just is boring as hell. What Is This Note? is thick and dark and not particularly melodic. Melody is after all one of Everett’s talents, and to eliminate that from the equation mortally wounds any chance of a song’s survival.
There are of course other songs, but they aren’t really worth mentioning. Not because they are horrid, but because they are just forgettable. Basically, there are better examples of similar ideas on other albums. Souljacker feels very much like a placeholder to me. Rather than innovating and refining his sound, Everett just treads water. And treading water isn’t nearly enough for fans who are used to an adventurous fellow.
Major fans of the Eels take note—this album has a special edition with a bonus disc available called Rotten World Blues. These rarities aren’t good on the whole, and aside from the few pleasing moments from I Write The B-Sides it is not worth tracking down or paying the extra few bucks (unless of course you are like me and feel compelled to own everything from the Eels in existence).
Anyway, skip it. Get Electro-Shock Blues, Daisies of the Galaxy, A Man Called E, or even the Levity soundtrack instead.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Dog Faced Boy
02. That's Not Really Funny
03. Fresh Feeling
04. Woman Driving, Man Sleeping
05. Souljacker, Pt. I
06. Friendly Ghost
07. Teenage Witch
08. Bus Stop Boxer
09. Jungle Telegraph
10. World of S#! T
11. Souljacker, Pt. II
12. What Is the Note?
Bonus Disc:
01. I Write the B-Sides
02. Hidden Track
03. Jehovah's Witness
04. Rotten World Blues
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