Electro-Shock Blues by Eels

Pros: Lyrics, vocals, guitars...it's all wonderful!
Cons: Probably a bit depressing for most people.

To refer to the “band” the Eels as dark is a major understatement. The incredibly bleak nature of Mark Everett’s (known simply by E) compositions is rooted in his equally depressing past. E has in the course of just a few years felt...

Pros: Good sound, Energetic instrumentals, Quirky
Cons: First half is way stronger than the second half, Some repetitiveness

As I figured out my artists of the month for 2009 in the music category - who I would focus on each month - I knew I wanted to alternate each month between a male and a female artist. Sometimes, I try to take a leap and learn about a group that is ...

Pros: Some awesome grooves and quality writing
Cons: A good deal of slow and boring tracks, inconsistent

------------------------------ ----------------------------- This review is an entry into MattA7 5's writeoff, so first off props to him for giving me a chance to take part in this thing. Also, thanks to my partner in ...

Pros: A masterpiece of the late 90s
Cons: That Everett remains ignored by almost every station - IT'S NOT FAIR

When about one and a half months ago Shelly (a.k.a. Lambchops) gave me the picks I should choose from to participate in this W/O… I was both intrigued and a little bit confused. I knew none of those artists. So, like I usually do when there’s...

Pros: Stunningly gorgeous
Cons: Painful

Concept albums have a bit of a bad rep. Most people, when you mention the term, will imagine some half-baked, overblown, overfed, 70's, Pink Floyd rip-off. (Or, in some cases, maybe Pink Floyd themselves) It seems to be a given among many that you...

Pros: beautiful and honest without drowning in its subject matter
Cons: what the poor guy had to go through for its subject matter

Strange. I adore this album for several reasons -- many too personal and irrelevant for a review here -- and don't feel it's as depressing as it's made out to be. First, the guy survived an estranged family, the death of his father and the suicide of...

Pros: musically and lyrically Outstanding
Cons: pretty depressing

Eels were formed in 1995 by Mark Oliver Everett, the man generally known as E. Their first album, Beautiful Freak met to critical and popular acclaim due to its charming blend of tongue in cheek angst and eccentric musicality. His follow up to this happy ...

Pros: E is a great storyteller and has a unique voice, bizarre sound effects, interesting guitar riffs
Cons: depressing

Electro-shock Blues contains 16 songs; Part One ‘Elizabeth on bathroom floor,’ ‘Going To Your Funeral,’ ‘Cancer for the Cure,’ ‘My Descent into Madness,’ ‘3 Speed,’ ‘Hospital Food,’ ‘Electro-Shock Blues,’ ‘Efils’ God,’ Part Two ‘Going to your Funeral...

Pros: Achingly beautiful songwriting.
Cons: Depressing as all get out.

For an album as beautiful as "Electro-Shock Blues", it's rather disheartening that it is as difficult to listen to as it is pretty. The Eels' frontman, "E", writes some songs that are delicate, catchy, and plaintive.

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Pros: The most fun a depressing album can be
Cons: Not for everyone

Why on earth would you buy an album, sixteen songs in length, that's about death and mental illness? Perhaps because it's one of the most brilliant albums to come out in the last few years.

Eels' songwriter, front man, and virtually...

Pros: intricately crafted songs, with emotional lyrics
Cons: deprssing

For an album so depressing, it really makes you want to listen to it again and again. There's something very addictive about misery. This album by the Eels was one of the best albums of 1998. Behind a shroud of looped hip-hop beats, distorted guitars,...