Album Details

• Artist: Eels
• Album: Hombre Lobo
• Label: Universal
• Year of Release: 2009
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: archelon on 2009-09-16

After a 4 year absence, E and his band of minions are back with a record of scuzz and blues in equal measure. Despite this, the band will not be touring with this record for a while: "Now that we've squeezed the baby out, I've just got to let my artistic vagina heal," he says. Charming.

Artistic vaginas nonwithstanding, this particular baby is a distortion-laden romp through all things moody. A combination of E's incredibly ostentatious beard and the album title 'werewolf' it's easy to see where inspiration for tracks like 'Fresh Blood' (which is, incidentally, superb) came from. Equally however we have 'All The Beautiful Things', which jars the very soul and features delicate banjo and chorus strings.

It's still very Eels, very signature but quite creative, offering us some new perspectives on life and the times.The riffs are slow and sultry, and they draw you in, making you want to sit and just immerse yourself in this dark, windy world. It's effortlessly contextual but nearly everything here could be taken as a stand alone and would work very well.I can only speculate about E's beard, but 'Hombre Lobo' will surely leave a lasting mark on modern rock.

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