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Critic Reviews
90
This stands out as a highlight by his lyrical dexterity and the visionary Parish/Everett production partnership.
4y
80
Extreme Witchcraft isn't a big basket of musical sunshine, but it's been a while since Eels have made an album with this sort of muddled joy, and it's a welcome development from one of pop's major misfits.
4y
80
The brilliance continues on Eels' 14th album Extreme Witchcraft.
4y
80
‘Extreme Witchcraft’ may be as freewheeling as Eels have sounded since they last worked with Parish, on ‘Souljacker’ a full two decades ago.
4y
80
On Extreme Witchcraft, Everett and Eels show that they still have a ton of ideas to fire off and, in hooking up once again with John Parish, they might just have come back with their best album of late.
4y
80
Subtle as it can be, Everett's defiant positivity
is sometimes overlooked. But it's always there,
flickering in the darkness.
is sometimes overlooked. But it's always there,
flickering in the darkness.
Print Only
4y
80
Part happy break-up LP, part honest look in the mirror, Extreme Witchcraft works magic.
4y
80
The album is a feverishly joyful homage to the primal power of rock.
4y
76
Overall it contains the humor, the pathos, the licks and the grooves that you’d expect from an Eels’ record.
4y
70
A record fuelled by audible joy from an artist who has dealt in trauma and pain.
2y
70
Extreme Witchcraft ... is a solid, fun rock record, but it seems to stick in the safe zone, struggling to continuously provide the memorable moments it, at times, offers.
3y
70
Extreme Witchcraft is a celebration of our idiosyncrasies, full of wit and heart, and an unlikely entry into music’s ‘self-help’ catalogue.'
4y
70
Extreme Witchcraft snaps and snarls more than usual, but wit, tunes and third-degree self-awareness continue to serve the post- grunge Randy Newman well.
4y
70
A work of impish maturity, ‘Extreme Witchcraft’ is Eels at their most playful, with the band’s carefree wizardry still delivering thrills, even after all these years.
4y
60
Extreme Witchcraft feels like a swing and a miss, no matter how good it sounds.
4y
60
Extreme Witchcraft is more often brisk and breezy, minor-key and, by Eels’ high standards, minor league; a major songwriter kicking back at home, taking notes and biding time, avoiding major changes.
4y
60
The handful of slower, softer tracks and the straightforward rock approach are enough to drag Extreme Witchcraft down below the expectations of EELS’ decades-old reputation.
4y
60
Rather than a fresh blast of wizardry, ‘Extreme Witchcraft’ is more of a feet-finder for our times.
4y
58
Without many memorable melodies or hooks to hold on to in the foreground, Extreme Witchcraft largely goes by unnoticed.
4y
50
On the whole Extreme Witchcraft is a frustratingly stodgy affair.
4y
50
As a study of a man starting to slowly regain his feet after a major relationship break-up during a pandemic, Extreme Witchcraft has plenty to say. As a collection of Eels songs though, it unfortunately falls some way short of the band’s best work.
4y
Don't let that cover fool you. "Extreme Witchcraft" lacks virtually any flair whatsoever. It's dull beyond belief, lyrically middling, instrumentally uninspired, and judging by Mark Everett's vocal performances, he seems just as bored by it as I am.
The only good thing is the album cover
So, I'm mid-class right now, and since none of my classmates seem to understand anything we're doing and I'm almost falling asleep in front of my computer, well, I decided that I might as well listen to an album and review it right away, and well, I saw this cool looking album cover, which actually appeared in some posts I saw this week on Instagram and gave it a shot. I wasn't expecting anything at all, even less so taking into account that it has a 49 ... read more
( ★ ★ ½ )
favorite tracks:
» 02. Good Night on Earth ; » 03. Strawberries and Popcorn ; » 07. The Magic ;
» 08. Better Living Through Desperation ; » 09. So Anyway ;
» 11. Learning While I Lose ; » 12. I Know You're Right
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Track List
| 1 | Amateur Hour 2:32 | 60 |
| 2 | Good Night On Earth 3:18 | 67 |
| 3 | Strawberries & Popcorn 3:42 | 64 |
| 4 | Steam Engine 3:14 | 56 |
| 5 | Grandfather Clock Strikes Twelve 3:22 | 58 |
| 6 | Stumbling Bee 3:37 | 65 |
| 7 | The Magic 3:12 | 68 |
| 8 | Better Living Through Desperation 2:31 | 64 |
| 9 | So Anyway 3:21 | 72 |
| 10 | What It Isn't 3:48 | 54 |
| 11 | Learning While I Lose 2:44 | 63 |
| 12 | I Know You're Right 3:06 | 70 |
Total Length: 38 minutes
