Excellent debut from Eels

Review Score: (8/10)
I'll admit it. I was reeled in by the single 'Novocaine For The Soul.' It's a song you'll be humming to yourself over and over. Fortunately, the rest of the album is also quite good. There are some songs you could give a miss, but then there are works of genius such as 'Susan's House,' a spoken-word tune that would make you laugh if it wasn't so sad. 'Flower' is affecting in it's gentleness, and 'Spunky' is just sublime. With lines like 'Spunky looks good in her bright red wig, eating chocolate chip mint ice-cream/A cat named Lola with a violent past, is balled-up asleep 'cross her knees" it's that kind of song which makes you take a time out from everyday life and take a deep, life-affirming breath. Even though this album is stacked with sad songs, there's an uplifting quality about them. It took me a while to get into the album, so you might need to play it a few times.

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