Tremendous Dynamite

To sum up everything I am going to say, and to do it in advance, I’ll say it this way, so you can just listen to the songs and ignore the rest of what I write:

If you listened to “Fresh Blood” expecting that Hombre Lobo would contain tracks of a similar nature to it (that I’ll describe as “sinister dance floor throb”), then this album is going to disappoint you. If anything, Hombre Lobo is a return to the form of Shootenanny! and Souljacker where E decided that he wanted to craft an album full of songs that all share a certain tone of voice. This is an album full of ‘Eels songs’, with a few standout tracks that mix things up a bit. If you sound interested, (and you should), then go forth and be merry.

Now, to get down into it…

If you’re listening to this first song, “Tremendous Dynamite”, then you already know half of the truly fun tracks on the album. It’s unfortunate then that the song is so short, but it’s definitely one of the two tracks (the other being “Fresh Blood”) off the album that I would want to watch a Suicide Girl twirl around a stripper pole to. It’s only downside is that it is so good that I wish the rest of the album was this way. This and “Fresh Blood” left me feeling like I was going to get a whole album of sexy, dangerous sounding music, that I would want to fuck to, that girls would want to fuck me to, the music that sticks in your memory and makes you horny even when there’s no one around, because just hearing it summons memories of carnal things done to it.

But, no. E did not give us an album full of sexy, dangerous music. He gave us an Eels record with a couple songs that are sexy and dangerous. I decided I was going to do a track by track review because there’s so much about this album that just seems a bit off in a few ways.

Opener “Prizefighter” sets us up for an album all about sex, a three minute bluesy stompy groove about being a man who’s willing to please, but then “The Look That You Give That Guy” lands us nearly solidly in Beautiful Freak era territory, with drums that sound straight from the understated tracks of that era, and a little fiddly guitar combined with lyrics that are nearly twee in their sweetness, and mostly I was just confused at this point.

One second the album is saying, “I am going to fuck you relentlessly,” and then the next track is basically, “I’m a wimpy dude who mostly just wants to hold this girl’s hand, but she won’t give me the time of day, I’m going to sit here and grow my hair out long and mope about it.” What’s that? How does that work?

“Lilac Breeze” continues that theme with a Souljacker style frantic pace, complete with a chorus that sounds so much like an Eels’ chorus (let’s say, from, eh, Daisys of the Galaxy) that it almost seems like parody. Definitely a fun song, but not particularly listenable.

“In My Dreams” takes us into an area reminiscent of Souljacker & Blinking Light‘s quieter moments. It’s got a “Fresh Feeling” mixed with a slow-tempo “Sweet Lil’ Thing” feeling to it. It’s a sweet sad song of longing, and I can see myself learning all the words just to sing the whole thing because it feels like a lot of fun.

Then we’ve got “Tremendous Dynamite”, which I’ve posted here for your pleasure, which makes me feel happy inside when I hear it. “The Longing” I’ve already skipped twice, a dreary “If You See Natalie” sort of song but without any redeeming qualities. “Fresh Blood” is the sinister dance floor throb I have grown to love, a song that begs to be fucked to, that begs to be turned up loud on a good sound system with the bass turned all the way up, an absolutely brilliant song that is 100% unique in Eels’ repertoire.

“What’s A Fella Gotta Do” feels directly inspired by their last hard rock inspired tour, being a straight rock song with catchy lyrics and a shouted chorus that makes you want to shout along and wave your arms around in the air amid a crowd of other people.

…and then, of course, we’re dropped back into typical Eels canon with “My Timing Is Off”, basically “In My Dreams” Part 2 but without a catchy, singable set of lyrics. “All The Beautiful Things” is much the same, beginning with a “Packing Blankets” guitar (seriously, it’s probably the same guitar from the Daisies of the Galaxy sessions because it sounds exactly the same), complete with backing instrumentation that sounds lifted from a variety of songs on that record.

And then there’s…

Beginner’s Luck

“Beginner’s Luck” leaves me feeling excited and giddy. This is what this album should have been about, if not relentless hard fucking, then it should have been this: pop rock songs with a gruffy E’s shouting through a static-filled microphone, singing about exciting young love and passion, with backing vocals in just the right spots to set my mind ablaze (because I love me a little “WHOA-OH-OHHH” in my songs) and a chorus that is infectious not in just mood, but in meaning, in music. This song is E at his very best.

“Ordinary Man” is back, again, to normal Eels canon: a dopey closing track making allusions to the hard life E has lived, which, after reading Things The Grandchildren Should Know is a lot less mysterious and, thusly, a lot less sympathetic. At this point it almost sounds like he’s trying to convince himself that the road he’s traveled was hard, because he won’t shut the fuck up about it.

We get it, E, we get it, life is hard, and we love you, now will you do this one thing for me?

I know you do nothing but sit around and write albums, so go through your collection and find me an album that sounds entirely like “Fresh Blood”. I want dirty music to fuck to, alright, I want music that makes me think of naked women gyrating in my lap, slowly getting naked and whispering awful things in my ear.

While you’re at it, write an album full of songs just like “Beginner’s Luck” and “Tremendous Dynamite”. I want a bunch of songs that make me want to dance around and think about how lovely women is and how exciting it is to meet someone who sets your mind all ablaze.

I love you, E, if you happen to read this, and I am probably one of those fans who will love anything you do (and so far, it’s true, regardless of what I am about to say, I love Hombre Lobo and will probably listen to it a lot), but seriously this album is schizophrenic. It’s not even an album, really, it’s more like a retrospective of your variety of styles all crammed into one record. The only thing that is missing is a track with a sample choir (ala “Old Shit/New Shit” and a variety of all my favorite songs) really, and a few other Eels touchstones (like tinny pianos and xylophones, songs about animals).

I guess it makes sense, then, that the album is titled Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire because E is a bit of a werewolf, he’s a shape-shifter, and over the course of his career he has never been scared to change the general style of his music, but the insides always stay the same. At the heart of every Eels song is… an Eels song. Every album has had a different aesthetic up until this point, with songs that sound good in every style used previously. Hombre Lobo feels a little like he trolled his catalog of unused songs from all his prior albums and assembled 12 tracks all centered around a central topic: desire. The tracks come from nearly every era of E’s music, and sum it all up quite nicely, with a couple little original flourishes set in.

My expectations were disappointed, but overall, I am just happy to have more Eels to listen to. Hopefully E will “see the light” as it were and switch over to just recording great songs and releasing them one by one. Waiting 4 years for 12 new Eels songs seems unfair when they’re not in some grand Blinking Lights style sequence. Eels fans want more Eels music! Give us lots of us. Quickly.

Note: Those so inclined will find that you can stream the whole album on MySpace.