Daisies Of The Galaxy

Eels burst out to prominence with 1996’s witty, bold paean to geekdom ‘Beautiful Freak’, which matched black humour with bold arrangements and catchy melodies. Its follow-up, ‘Electro Shock Blues’ – written against the backdrop of the suicide of frontman E’s sister and the terminal disease afflicting his mother – was beautiful, but its bleak content proved too naked for fans of hits like ‘Novocaine For The Soul’ and ‘Susan’s House’.

‘Daisies Of The Galaxy’ pulls back from the abyss to which E took his music having lighter arrangements and more of his quirky lyricism. The themes are largely unchanged – his mother died during the making of the album and it opens with a track, ‘Grace Kelly’s Blues’, which recalls a New Orleans funeral – but Daisies also meditates on escape (‘Packing Blankets’) and desire (‘Jeannie’s Diary’). The pervading sense of loneliness and loss clings nevertheless, notably on the deeply moving ballad ‘It’s A Motherfucker’ (“being here without you”). It can’t all be sweetness and light.