The Beat Surrender

Some bands tend to disappear off into the studio and are not seen again for years as they toil away trying to follow up the previous release (yes you Elastica, Stone Roses) while some just seem to space out their releases as that’s the way they work and they don’t like to be rushed (I hear you Massive Attack), others though take the opposite approach.

In recent years Eels have been one of the most consistent bands around release wise, not only are they popping out albums like peas from a pod, they have also ensured that they haven’t let their standards dip, leaving an ever growing legacy of good albums as a back catalogue.

The latest release End Times doesn’t quite hit the heights of Hombre Lobo but is again a good, solid album that will certainly please existing fans.

It’s probably because of the diversity within the tracks that it doesn’t flow quite as well, the individual tracks though are once again on the money. I love the stripped back lo-fi acoustic sound of The Beginning and the vulnerable sounding In My Younger Days and if you want a contrast then you have the rockier dirty blues of Gone Man.

They veer between the simple and stripped back and the fuller sound quite often on End Times, but it’s actually the simplistic piano ballad A Line In The Dirt that steals the show for me with the lyric “she locked herself in the bathroom, so i’m pissing in the yard” painting a vivid picture of a relationship breakdown.

So good stuff as always from Eels and they’ve maintained their statis for me here, I just hope next time round they think a little bit more about the flow of the album.