lambchops's Full Review: Blinking Lights and Other Revelations [Digipak] by...
Never short on inspiration, Mark Oliver Everett has once again dimmed the lights and turned in an outstanding effort. If there’s one thing to know about Blinking Lights and Other Revelations it is that instead of just 12 or 15 or even 18 tracks, it contains an astounding 33 songs and over 90 minutes. That is plenty of room to really screw up or overindulge in excesses. Instead, Everett puts together a strange (even for him) combination of emotion, folk-pop, and rich music that in the end takes the best parts of his other albums and expounds.
Everett is of course better known as the Eels, and his music has earned him a cult following. Blinking Lights and Other Revelations picks up where Shootenanny! (2003) left off. While that album was easily his most straightforward, this one takes the general musical ideas presented there and injects the gut-wrenching honesty of Electro-Shock Blues (1998). It is a brave, gorgeous, and epic album that will win over new Eels converts while not at all alienating the old guard. To listen to Blinking Lights is to momentarily step into Everett’s world by way of tiny musical vignettes.
All of the trademarks of prior Eels releases can be found here—humor, pop hooks, disconnected vocals, emotional honesty, and occasional production flourishes. However what Blinking Lights does that none of the previous five studio releases have is create a rock opera. That’s right—Blinking Lights is a rock opera, albeit a chaotic and bizarre and not-at-all-linear one. The joy of this album is in its openness. It never claims to be concise or immediately appealing and it never pretends to be anything it is not. Everett was clearly ready to open up once again and spill his guts for the sake of making a fabulous record.
…and fabulous is a perfect word to describe so much of what Blinking Lights and Other Revelations has to offer…
Variations on the Theme from Blinking Lights are dispersed throughout the album. Many of the tracks are short instrumental prologues for the more important and interesting songs. It’s a curious way to assemble an album, but fans of Everett and the Eels have come to know that anything is possible (a pop song about cancer, etc…) on one of his albums. It is rather difficult to play favorites. Nothing about this disc is bad—everything is perfect and glorious and lovely—rather there are a few outstanding songs that put this album solidly among my favorites from the Eels.
The first disc is clearly intended to be the lighter, more introspective movement. The first real standout song comes with Son of a Bitch featuring a distinctive and creatively fresh saxophone arrangement. However it is the haunting xylophone and drum driven Trouble With Dreams. It captures everything I love about the Eels in the span of one song. Strange musical vision combined with a tight pop sensibility and Everett’s stolid delivery. Suicide Life is also a nice song, but I love the understated slide guitars and folk-country-pop-classical juxtaposition that is In the Yard, Behind the Church (and then Railroad Man).
As the song pass by on the first disc, I’m struck at how complete the vision of Blinking Lights is. I wouldn’t say that it’s anything near concise—it meanders in every direction—but Everett has managed to put together a musically cohesive album that has a beginning, middle, and end. Hence my earlier comparison to a rock opera. Mother Mary is odd to say the least and hashes together an organ and percussion. It’s impossible to actually figure out what kind of music it is outside of something made by the distinctive Eels. Going Fetal is begins in a direction that is immediately reminiscent of Mellancamp’s Rock in the USA. The upbeat arrangement, horns, fake live audience, Tom Waits vocal sample, and ironic lyrical twist makes it one of the most surprising tracks in the Everett discography.
Disc 1 winds down with the darkly hopeful Checkout Blues followed by the instrumental Blinking Lights (For You). The second disc begins on a similar note to the first—slow, melodic, and evocative Dust of Ages is an arresting song. The spooky synths of Old Shit/New Shit make it an interesting listen, but kicky and upbeat first single Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living is a sparkly album favorite. I love the frenetic pace, claps, saxophone, and chants that draw the song together. There are so many unexpected elements that it could have fallen apart, instead it sounds like the work of a slightly off-balance genius.
I’m Going to Stop Pretending That I Didn’t Break Your Heart ranks as one of the most emotional songs. Everett’s voice is understated and controlled and the instruments are pure and acoustic. The folk aesthetic works perfectly in the context of this overwhelmingly beautiful album. On To Lick Your Boots, note the familiar work of R.E.M.’s Peter Buck (who also co-wrote the song). It’s an immediately satisfying and incredibly enjoyable song. Speaking of guest performers, Everett called on John Sebastian (of Lovin’ Spoonful) to co-write the delicate and haunting instrumental Dusk: A Peach in the Orchard. Losing Streak is another upbeat, hopeful, rousing pop track. Between the keys, trumpets, chunky percussion, and jangly arrangement it ends up being one of the most memorable songs of Blinking Lights and Other Revelations.
The album wraps with Things the Grandchildren Should Know which draws the listener into Everett’s personal diary. It reads like an honest (warts, failures and all) portrayal of the artist’s creative tendencies. I’m impressed by the distinct, quaint, and graceful arrangement paired with the poignant and personal lyrics. The song puts everything in perspective—he’s admitting to his faults, owning up to his problems, and unleashing everything he’s pent up creatively for the past few years (and maybe longer). Blinking Lights is clearly Everett’s opus.
While this is obviously Everett’s most poignant piece to date, it is hard to say whether it is my favorite. I love the pitch black humor and painful revelations of Electro-Shock Blues and I adore the kitschy coolness of Daisies of the Galaxy but Blinking Lights and Other Revelations is something different and somehow more creative. It is the kind of album I hoped the Eels would eventually release. The daunting 33-track album is not best for new fans of the man and band (look to Electro-Shock Blues and Daisies of the Galaxy for the best places to start) but certainly puts the career into context. Mark Oliver Everett is an incredibly talented songwriter, lyricist, and artist. If you’re already a fan, pick this album up…now.
Rating: 5/5 stars
Disc 1:
01. Theme from Blinking Lights
02. From Which I Came/A Magic World
03. Son of a Bitch
04. Blinking Lights (For Me)
05. Trouble With Dreams
06. Marie Floating Over the Backyard
07. Suicide Life
08. In the Yard, Behind the Church
09. Railroad Man
10. The Other Shoe
11. Last Time We Spoke
12. Mother Mary
13. Going Fetal
14. Understanding Salesmen
15. Theme for a Pretty Girl That Makes You Believe God Exists
16. Checkout Blues
17. Blinking Lights (For You)
Disc 2:
01. Dust of Ages
02. Old Shit/New Shit
03. Bride of Theme from Blinking Lights
04. Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living)
05. I’m Going to Stop Pretending That I Didn’t Break Your Heart
06. To Lick Your Books
07. If You See Natalie
08. Sweet Li’l Thing
09. Dusk: A Peach in the Orchard
10. Whatever Happened to Soy Bomb
11. Ugly Love
12. God’s Silence
13. Losing Streak
14. Last Days of My Bitter Heart
15. The Stars Shine in the Sky Tonight
16. Things the Grandchildren Should Know
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