The gorgeous ditties are still there on tracks such as "Accident Prone," but this melodic spell is often abruptly broken by those louder, raucous moments: this might be the first of the band's revolving casts to actually sound as though they're having a hell of a good time.
Eels’ 10th album doesn’t sound all that different than the ones that preceded it. Everett and his band mix jagged alt-rock and murky swamp-pop with bluesy shuffles and fractured art-rock.
Whether he has been re-invigorated by love, his new band or just from old-fashioned growing up, Mark Everett and Eels re-define themselves here with exhilarating success, putting all associations with misery out of mind with a compelling finality.
One of the consistently brilliant musicians working today hasn't let us down yet.
E’s tragedy-filled life has been well documented, so part of the triumph of this record is just how upbeat he sounds while talking about everything from love and loss to mortality itself.
While not as strong a collection as Hombre Lobo, or any of the first three or four albums, Wonderful, Glorious boasts at least one nailed-on Greatest Hits contender ('True Original') and has very few actual low points.
Wonderful, Glorious is a solid Eels record, with some of the best arrangements they have ever written. However, despite E's sunny new disposition, the subpar lyrics drag the album down quite a bit.
Glorious is consistently captivating if perhaps a lighter serving of Eel, marginally missing the masterful, cathartic storytelling and haymaker knockout punch of their finest work.
Not all of the tracks hit their mark, and this is a far cry from the standard of much of E's earlier material.
It feels as raw and immediate as anything Eels have released in nearly a decade.
E might be more at peace with himself and his solitude, but Wonderful, Glorious isn’t the sort of reinvention that Everett wants it to be.
I didn't think E had anything left in him after his the trio of albums he released prior to this one(Hombre Lobo(2009), End Times(2010), and Tomorrow Morning(2010), but I was proved wrong with this "Wonderful, Glorious" album(see what I did there?)! Eels calls on the likes of Beck and Bob Dylan for the sound on this album, and that's never a bad combination if you know how to use it right. While I have a feeling this is probably Eels' last album, it's definitely ... read more
#37 | / | Drowned in Sound |