Review by LarryG
3 stars out of 4
Eels are among the most appealing, idiosyncratic pop bands around.
Frontman E took a big step forward with 1998's Electro-Shock Blues, a
set of songs largely about the death and illness of family and
friends. Electro-Shock Blues was striking and moving but it was so sad
and personal that listening felt like an invasion of privacy. Daisies
Of The Galaxy is also personal and fairly subdued but it's more
hopeful and accessible.
Daisies Of The Galaxy has lots of different musical ideas but it
stays simple and unpretentious. There's a warm, comfortable feel
throughout from E's nearly spoken but tuneful singing and his
winningly real stories. As on some of Electro-Shock Blues' best
songs(3 Speed and Climbing To The Moon), E is appealing singing simple
songs. Most of the songs are mostly E's voice and guitar or piano with
other embellishments adding texture. Horns add poignance to Grace
Kelly Blues' acoustic guitar. Sad vignettes are given hope by E's
vocal and final line: "sun melting the fake smile away, I think, you
know, I'll be okay." Chiming keyboards and E's simple strumming match
Packing Blankets' optimism. A move symbolizes leaving behind "all the
troubles you and I have seen." Daisies Of The Galaxy's sad, quiet
title track is a sweet tale of a man and a boy also seeking happiness
in a new town. On the simplest songs, E's honesty and vulnerability is
very appealing. It's A Motherfucker's stark lyrics, strings and piano
communicate the pain of desperately missing someone. Jeannie's Diary
is a stunner about yearning to "be a page" in her diary. With delicate
strings and keyboards, it's reminiscent of early unironic Steely Dan
songs like Dirty Work, Rikki, Don't Lose That Number and Doctor Wu.
Daisies Of The Galaxy has three very minimal songs near the end. By
then it's hard to maintain interest in all the unassuming songs. But
the mellow songs are pretty good, especially the last one, Selective
Memory. E uses a Neil Young style raw falsetto, singing about filling
in painful gaps in his memory of a loved one.
Daisies Of The Galaxy is mostly subdued singer/songwriter songs
but E mixes fun and silliness with the seriousness. A skating rink
organ and jolly horns mock E's lyrics on Tiger In My Tank about buying
rock star ashes and dreaming that his TV and phone are growing legs
and leaving him alone. I Like Birds is a goofy but understated
celebration of escaping the excesses of modern life and people who
"act like a turd" with winged friends. E promises "if you're small and
on a search, I've got a feeder for you to perch on." E, like Beck, is
always combining different sounds. The Sound Of Fear, with a big Butch
Norton beat and lots of keyboard squiggles, is particularly Beck-like.
The interesting, dancable Flyswatter, about the many challenges life
presents, is the only song where E's desire to add different sounds is
a little showy. Daisies Of The Galaxy has its share of upbeat songs
but the only real rocker is its "bonus track" Mr. E's Beautiful Blues,
which is a welcome energy boost. The verse lists a string of dark
images like "the smokestack's spitting black soot into the sunny
sky/the load on the road brings a tear to the Indian's eye" but the
chorus("Goddamned right it's a beautiful day") seems heartfelt rather
than ironic because the music is so joyful. Norton's steady drums, an
insistent honk and other synth effects and a nice, circular guitar
line make Mr. E's Beautiful Blues simple and buoyant, like a faster
version of REM's Stand.
Daisies Of The Galaxy's songs are well written and bare the mark
of a searching, appealingly real artist dealing with sadness and
tragedy and looking for hope. Daisies Of The Galaxy is mostly mellow
but the music is distinctive and thoughtfully conceived.
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