Eels's previous effort, 1998's unrelentingly bleak Electro-Shock Blues, appeared to be the final nail in the coffin of the group's commercial potential, preoccupied as it was by the suicide of frontman E's sister and the imminent death of his mother. Significantly, this third album begins with the sound of a celebratory New Orleans funeral and aside from the instrumental Estate Sale (dealing with the songwriter's feelings about having to sell his dead mother's possessions), the Peter Buck-assisted Daisies For The Galaxy is more a sepia-toned, reflective and often dryly humorous affair. I Like Birds (rhymed here with "turds") is throwaway surrealism, Jeannie's Diary is muted and touching, and Something Is Sacred dreamy and reverie-inducing.

Track List:
1. Grace Kelly Blues
2. Packing Blankets
3. The Sound Of Fear
4. I Like Birds
5. Daisies Of The Galaxy
6. Flyswatter
7. It's A Motherf****r
8. Estate Sale
9. Tiger In My Tank
10. A Daisy Through Concrete
11. Jeannie's Diary
12. Wooden Nickels
13. Something Is Sacred
14. Selective Memory
15. Mr. E's Beautiful Blues - (hidden track)

To hear a RealAudio clip,
click on a highlighted track above.

March 2000

Tom Doyle