End Times, the latest album from Eels, the project of Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E, and current members Koool G Murder and Knuckles (the group could be called a collective of sorts, with a revolving lineup and E at the helm) is a salty, sinuous tale of melancholy pop, sobering lyrics, plucky lullabies, and troubled, bluesy guitar scratch. Mostly recorded on a four track, End Times panders to the notion of form meets content, where busted hearts express themselves through a long forgotten transmission source. The songs, raw and unadorned, have the kind of great range that movie stars aspire to, the ability to be many things at once and to completely transform with each performance or in this case song. 
From the disquieting whispers on “The Beginning” to the jangling roadhouse rock n’ romp of “Paradise Blues,” End Times is inspiration for something simpler. On “Nowadays,” E is accompanied by a thick as molasses, heavy-handed strum and sings, “the truth is something no one really wants to hear you say…just how do you do and have a nice day…” There’s certainly a familiar kind of denial or “wash it down” sentiment that needles through all of the songs on this beautiful and tragic album. E punctuates his grizzly gulps, so to speak, with the eerie, ambient “High and Lonesome,” a decoupage of noise: pouring rain and passing cars, a knock at the door, a buzzing dial tone, and even plays with some spoken word on “Apple Trees,” all of which set the dark and stormy stage where E’s misery unfolds.
Despite the greatly satisfying gloom on the bulk of the album, there are poppier hints throughout, like the campy la-la-la on “Mansions of Los Feliz,” or the tinny 60s beat on “Unhinged,” one that’s offset by a kind of Cobain gruff that reaches for a girl with “crazy eyes.” You know the kind. I guess that’s the thing about this album that has me so swept; it’s a pulling familiarity – one that’s easily recognized. You too have tried to make sense of it all. You’ve been bruised, you’ve thrown a few punches and you’ve opted to shoot down the truth at a bar instead of dealing with it. End Times is that feeling: that burning, cold, lonely feeling. And in the end, just like the album closer “Little Bird” delicately reveals, we all just want to be loved.
Track Listing:
- The Beginning
- Gone man
- Mansions Of Los Feliz
- A Line In The Dirt
- End Times
- Apple trees
- Paradise Blues
- Nowadays
- Unhinged
- High and Lonesome
- I Need A Mother
- On My Feet
- Little Bird
