· jclacking · details
Still burning bright, this is an interesting collection of material that has Pop veering from spoken word jazz to menacing indie rock. It’s not fast and loud, but it sure is sneering and in your face.
This producer-songwriter duo invests electronic beats and heavily-textured arrangements with soaring vocals, sometimes wordless but always emotive.
Pain, desperation, a desperate will to hang in there, and an obsession with noticing the small things in life are common themes in Eels’ musical career, and they remain present here to comfort those in need of a song to help them through.
Tricky’s approach to music, with subdued tempos and striking contrasts (like pitting his industrial grit voice against Marta’s honeyed vocals) has not dulled over the years, glinting in the streetlight like an out of place scalpel.
Callahan’s deep gruff voice meanders through acoustic non-linear arrangements like a limo driver telling a story, completely oblivious to their own cowboy poetry.
lacking.org