There was a time, back in the day, when Eels would come back out onstage after the house lights had gone up. The gig was supposedly over, most people had left, and Mark Oliver Everett would play a few more songs for the 40 or 50 still hanging around.
I was lucky enough to be at one of those shows. Mostly because I don’t walk very well and it takes me a while to get out of a venue. Sometimes, that has its advantages.
The point is that this was never a man particularly bothered about rock stardom. E, as Everett is known, has always seemed more interested in doing things his own way. Thirty years into Eels’ story, their sixteenth album, “Cookie Happened”, suggests that remains the case.
It begins with “Clobbered”, which, on the face of it, is as quirky as you might expect. Underneath, though, this is as classic as any American singer-songwriter. “So that didn’t work, that was my last chance,” he offers, and straight away we are in familiar territory: the broken, the desperate, the people trying to work out what happens next.
“Cap In Hand” finds a broken man picking up the pieces, while “All Forgotten” carries the sort of thought that can stop you in your tracks: “When I figure out where I am going it will be too late to change.” Everett has a way of making those reflections sound conversational, which only makes them hit harder.
You don’t keep doing this for three decades, however, by making exactly the same record every time. “Bamboozled Again” has an almost Steve Harley feel, and its guitar work is absolute class. “Lost And Barking” surveys a lifetime of regrets, but does so with something altogether more strident and in your face. There’s bite here, even when the subject is looking backwards.
“Taking Pictures” is so regretful that the piano seems to carry some of the weight itself. Then “New Story” arrives as a pop song, looking for another chapter because, as he puts it, “the old one was a bore”. Maybe that urge to keep moving, to find something else worth saying, is part of what continues to drive him.
“Congratulations To Me” has lovely strings, but the sentiment underneath them is rather less comfortable. This is a man at the end of his tether, congratulating himself for making it through unscathed. For still being alive at the end of it all. In that context, the title feels like an achievement.
Arguably, the highlight is “One Razzle, One Dazzle”, which has an incredible end-of-night feel. You can almost hear the room emptying around it. “I’m On Standby” is cinematic, with plenty going on beneath the surface, while “Dum Dums” offers a typically gentle excoriation. You might imagine its target is the American right, although there’s enough room to take it wherever you want.
“The Way I Was Made” continues the reflection, ending things with a celebration of individuality. Really, that has been the thread running through Everett’s career all along.
For 30 years, he has made music on his own terms, finding songs in the places most people would rather avoid looking. “Cookie Happened” is another reminder of how good he has always been at that. Quirky, certainly, but full of humanity, melody and the quiet brilliance that keeps you hanging around after the lights come up.
Rating: 9/10
