Since emerging with 'Beautiful Freak', Mark Oliver Everett and Eels have remained one of the most consistently interesting bands to inhabit the small divide between indie, pop and rock. The band's enigmatic leader has penned beautiful songs about death, misery and depression, but many of them with a glint in his eye and a brief glance towards better days.
This week the band landed in the UK for a long-awaited tour, and we've delved into their videography to put together a picture of the band, from the first note of the their debut single through to their recent clown musings. Turn on, tune in, and (beautiful) freak out.
Novocaine For The Soul – 'Beautiful Freak' (1996)
From their earliest days, it was apparent that Eels wouldn't be a bread and butter kind of band. Novocaine For The Soul was the first single from 'Beautiful Freak', and brought the band a top 10 single in the UK and 25 weeks on the Billboard chart. Directed by Mark Romanek, the promo is an evocative black and white affair that sent E, bassist Tommy Walter and drummer Butch spiralling into the air while the track's picked indie rock swirled.
Last Stop: This Town – 'Electro-Shock Blues' (1998)
You know you've made it when people start fashioning your likeness out of vegetables. That's right isn't it? Either way, that's what goes on in the video for Last Stop: This Town. Taken from 'Electro-Shock Blues', an album that deals with the death of E's father, his sister's suicide and his mother's battle against cancer in unflinching, yet poetic fashion, it was another hit for the band and further proof of their leader's lyrical genius.
Mr. E's Beautiful Blues – 'Daisies Of The Galaxy' (2000)
The video for this minor pop classic has gone down as one of the “few regrets” in Everett's career. Included as a secret track on the band's third album, and a success as a single regardless, E was strongarmed into filming the promo alongside the stars of cinematic turd Road Trip. It's all very awkward. Great song, though.
Souljacker Part One – 'Souljacker' (2001)
Shot by Wim Wenders in an abandoned prison in East Berlin, this video accompanied the only single from the band's superb 'Souljacker' record. E was inspired by the story of a California serial killer who claimed to take his victims' souls as well as their lives, and wrote the song Souljacker Part II - this song's companion piece - on a roll of toilet paper while at a meditation retreat.
Hey Man (Now You're Really Living) – 'Blinking Lights And Other Revelations' (2005)
According to E, Eels' 2005 double album, 'Blinking Lights And Other Revelations', was about: "God and all the questions related to the subject of God. It's also about hanging on to my remaining shreds of sanity and the blue sky that comes the day after a terrible storm, and it's a love letter to life itself, in all its beautiful, horrible glory." One small sliver of it was Hey Man (Now You're Really Living), a throwback to the days of 'Daisies...' and another treatise on the subject of depression. E helmed the stripped-back, inventive video himself.
Fresh Blood – 'Hombre Lobo' (2009)
Fresh Blood landed in March 2009 and was the lead single from 'Hombre Lobo', the first in a trilogy of concept albums that would later be completed by 'End Times' and 'Tomorrow Morning'. The video for the track, which finds a beardy E traversing backstreets under a blood red filter, was helmed by Jesse Dylan, son of Bob.
Kinda Fuzzy – 'Wonderful, Glorious' (2013)
Eels' 10th record landed in early 2013, following something of a hiatus given their prolific tendencies at other times, and brought with it driving guitars and a sharp sound honed through full-band rehearsals and jams during the writing process. The video for Kinda Fuzzy is classic Eels, casting Everett as a depressed, booze-soaked clown at the helm of a kids' TV show.
Eels UK & Ireland Tour Dates are as follows
Tue September 3rd 2013 - GLASGOW O2 ABC
Wed September 4th 2013 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 Academy Newcastle
Thu September 5th 2013 - LIVERPOOL O2 Academy Liverpool
Fri September 6th 2013 - LEICESTER O2 Academy Leicester
Sat September 7th 2013 - LONDON Shepherds Bush Empire
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