It's been 14 years since EELS first hit the airwaves courtesy of their "MTV Buzz Clip" single "Novocaine For The Soul," off their debut Beautiful Freak. The song embodied what has become something of a stamp for the band - primarily E aka Mark Oliver Everett plus a rotating cast of semi-regular band members: songs that seem to shuffle towards an insanity that burst into beautiful melody, a dark, sad undercurrent flowing beneath otherwise shimmering beauty. While other mid-90's alt-rock acts got primarily relegated to the discount bin at used CD stores, EELS continued to churn out albums of steadily increasing quality: the bleak yet beautiful Electro-Shock Blues (1998), the borderline baroque Daisies of the Galaxy (2000), and the sprawling Blinking Lights (2005) being the best. more ›

more ›