The Eels - Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire Review
Posted by CA on 07.18.2009
Singer/Songwriter E is back with the Eels first new recording in over four years and the experience is...ENJOYABLE???
Track Listing:
1. Prizefighter – (E, Koool G Murder) 2:53
2. That Look You Give That Guy – (E, Koool G Murder) 4:15
3. Lilac Breeze – (E) 2:35
4. In My Dreams – (E, Koool G Murder) 3:22
5. Tremendous Dynamite – (E, Koool G Murder) 2:45
6. The Longing – (E) 4:22
7. Fresh Blood – (E, Koool G Murder) 4:24
8. What’s a Fella Gotta Do – (E, Koool G Murder) 3:24
9. My Timing Is Off – (E) 2:57
10. All the Beautiful Things – (E) 2:22
11. Beginner’s Luck – (E, Koool G Murder) 3:37
12. Ordinary Man – (E) 3:15
Label: Vagrant Release Date: 06.02.09 Genre: Adult Alternative, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Post-Grunge Running Time: 40:16 Producer: E
The Players:
E – Vocals, Guitar
Knuckles – Percussion
Koool G Murder – Bass
I have to admit, I really don’t like the thought of a new Eels album. Beautiful Freak and Electro-Shock Blues are fantastic albums for their day, but I want to hate this group. There’s something about listening to a rich pop star crooning about how unfulfilled he is over and over again that bothers me on a basic level. Or maybe it’s that the group has decided to call themselves by such ridiculous nicknames (and that lead songwriter ‘E’ doesn’t seem to bother with wanting to stick with his). Maybe it’s that the group’s songs always carry this wink-of-the-eye ironic sarcasm that promises to the audience that they’re really more literary than they are. Maybe it’s that the entire package seems to promote the stench of a useless, selfish hipster ideology. Whatever it may be, this group bothers me on a fundamental level. I want to hate them. That being said, the following statement is incredibly excruciating; Hombre Lobo is a good album. So good in fact, that I can even get over E’s pathetically constant ‘woe is me’ attitude in the songs. On some level, I even come to find it endearing on this album.
This is the first collection of original songs that Eels have released in four years. The title of the album, translated to mean ‘wolfman’, Hombre Lobo is a concept album that follows the character E created in the song “Dog Faced Boy” from the Eels 2001 release, Souljacker. No, there is no reason to go back and read that again, you got it right the first time. Smelling the hipster yet?
The album opens well with the track “Prizefighter”. This is an up tempo number that not only sounds good, but makes you feel like E might finally be out of his funk and writing songs about things other than being unfulfilled.
Well, if you need me I’m right here
No matter what I’m always near
Yeah, I’ve been through a lot and you can’t scare me
Now go on baby if you just dare me
But hope for a positive outlook from E doesn’t hold out long as the album immediately moves right back into familiar territory with “That Look You Give That Guy”. Here E croons,
That look you give that guy, I wanna see
Looking right at me
If I could be that guy instead of me
I’d never let you down
This, as it does with the rest of the Eels catalog, sets the emotional tone for the rest of the album. E has even said publicly that this is his favorite track from the album. As much as this is groan-inducing familiar territory for the band, “That Look You Give That Guy” is a really good song. Sounding almost similar to Tom Waits’ “I Hope I Don’t Fall In Love With You”, this is a pathetic character that I’m actually rooting for by the end of the song, even though he comes close to being a stalker.
The album proceeds nicely after this with generally entertaining tracks like the harder rocking “Tremendous Dynamite”. There are a few clear misses, like “The Longing” which is just that…LONG. “What’s A Fella Gotta Do” sounds a bit like a Beck song on anti-depressants. Finally, the album closes strong with the happy toe tapper, “Beginner’s Luck” and, its logical companion, the woe-is-me blues ballad “Ordinary Man”.
The 411: This is a worthwhile listen. If you like the Eels, you will love this. If you hate the Eels, than you will still be able to find things to listen to here. It's depressing and sardonic, but the tunes are good.
