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The Eels
Posted by dirty from Cardiff - Published on 31/07/2009 at 15:27
- Tagged as Music
A cult band since their arrival in the late eighties, the Eels (often typecast as eels or EELS) have never been a band to be bored of.
Brainchild of the illusive Mark Everett (AKA Mr E, born in 1963 in America), his strong interest in rock 'n' roll and toy instruments soon defined the band's sound.
Although being marketed as an alternative rock band, it's Everett who's writes all the songs, and sings and plays them on record.
A juvenile teenage life with arrest and expulsion from school - largely down to his father's death a few years previously - passed before Everett began recording his own songs on a four-track machine and quickly began to improve.
Relocating to Los Angeles he caught the attention of newly-formed but now defunct Dreamworks Records, also famous for signing melancholic singer-songwriter, Elliott Smith.
Issuing the band's debut album Beautiful Freak in 1996 brought them sucess with a sound often compared to artist Beck and huge airplay on MTV with their hit-single, Novocaine For The Soul.
The Eels remained strong despite many personal tragedies (including the death of Everett's sister and mother in the same month) further to record the darkly tinged Electro-Shock Blues which has a strong theme of unhappiness running through it.
Many albums (and film scores) later and June 2009 has seen the release of the Eels new album, Hombre Lobo (wolfman in Spanish). Subtitled 12 Songs For Desire, although it won't impress the average Eels fan with its samey sound it is an impressive album. Just like Placeb,o the Eels seem to only get better with age.
Mr E is also known for his subtle and touching autobiographical book, Things The Grandchildren Should Know, which was released to critical acclaim in the UK.
