IN REVIEW: Eels - "The Deconstruction"

After a particularly prolific run that saw the release of five albums in five years, Mark Oliver Everett considered retiring from music, citing burnout. Nonetheless, after experiencing a rapid succession of life events (marriage, divorce, the birth of his son), songs inevitably started to surface and, over the course of four years, the songs that ended up becoming The Deconstruction took shape.

Considering the subdued, personal tone of previous album The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett, it actually feels like it's been an extra year since we got the last true Eels record (2013's Wonderful, Glorious) and, taken as the follow-up to that album, The Deconstruction reveals that not much has changed in the last five years. Everett's knacks for slacker indie folk and darkly orchestral rock remain intact on lead singles The Deconstruction and Bone Dry, respectively.

Elsewhere, we're treated to a host of familiar Eels sounds and styles; there aren't really all that many songs here that will strike even a casual listener of Eels over the years as a surprise. Not that this is expected over twenty years after Eels' breakthrough debut, especially coming off the heels of a near departure from the craft. That said, these songs certainly don't sound phoned in or disingenuous, they're just not all that different from what came before. A few interludes are interspersed throughout to give the album pause before the next batch of tunes arrive, and they break up the album into convenient segments but offer little in the way of substance.

As an album, The Deconstruction is a little more energetic and a lot brighter than Everett's previous record and, even if it doesn't challenge past highlights like Electro-Shock Blues and Wonderful, Glorious, it's still a welcome addition to Eels' discography, and one that offers a pleasant conclusion should Mark Oliver Everett decide to hang it up after this.

April 6, 2018 • E Works/PIAS
Highlights The Deconstruction • Bone Dry • Rusty Pipes