Souljacker

Artist: Eels

Album: Souljacker

Release Year: 2001

 

1) Dog Faced Boy; 2) That’s Not Really Funny; 3) Fresh Feeling; 4) Woman Driving, Man Sleeping; 5) Souljacker, Pt. I; 6) Friendly Ghost; 7) Teenage Witch; 8) Bus Stop Boxer; 9) Jungle Telegraph; 10) World of S#!T; 11) Souljacker, Pt II; 12) What is the Note?

DIMMEL

Best Song: Woman Driving, Man Sleeping

Good:

Woman Driving, Man Sleeping

Friendly Ghost

Teenage Witch

Bad:

Souljacker Pt. 1

Souljacker is a stupid album, but enjoyably so, once you get used to it.  The album has a very repetitive feel to it, which initially comes off as dated and tiresome but it really does grow on you.  On first listen I disliked the album; up until just after the halfway point.  It just took a few listens for me to actually get it. Souljacker is meant to be a fun, simple album, not overblown and complex like a lot of the music I tend to listen to.  If you take it too seriously you will be disappointed, but taken at face value, the album is pretty good. I found myself actually liking songs like ‘Teenage Witch’ and eventually even ‘Woman Driving, Man Sleeping’ (Which is surprising because on first listen I hated that song).  As a whole, Souljacker is pretty good, nothing more nothing less.  It really doesn’t stand out on any level and in the long run is utterly forgettable.

6.5/10 

JAKE

Best Song: Woman Driving, Man Sleeping

Good: 

Woman Driving, Man Sleeping               

Souljacker, Pt. I               

World of S#!t

Bad:  

Dog Faced Boy

First, this is hardly the best introduction to Eels; and Eels takes such a strange approach to the whole "being in a band" thing anyway that it's difficult to review them within the same parameters as I would just about anyone else.  That's one of the reasons Dimmel is along for the ride, though: he gives us the outside-looking-in perspective without the personal bias of having been a fan for years before we started actually reviewing music.

Anyway, this album is louder, more varied, and more direct than any of its predecessors, but it will probably take longer to grow on you.  It follows the usual Eels trend of "diary first, music second," although by no means does that mean Mr. E can't write songs.  The tracks are all listenable, yet the album as a whole lacks the smooth flow of the first two.  The overall character of the work is represented very nicely by the cover, in fact--hell, even the softer songs sound dirty and grungy.  In spirit, that is.  And yeah, of course someone like me would love a song called "World of Shit."

On the personal side, Souljacker is still self-conscious, yet not quite quite as emotionally close to the listener; you've got to some of the work yourself if you want to bridge that gap.  And yeah, some of that work includes trying to appreciate the more generic songs like "Friendly Ghost."  It's more ironic and quirky than usual, as evidenced by the harsh take-that of "Teenage Witch," the black comedy romp of "Jungle Telegraph" (which took me a long time to appreciate); and by the closing track, which contains the hardest rocking the band ever did.  Still, there are some quintessential Eels moments, tender and loney or bitter and angry, in the gritty blues craziness of the first title track and the atmospheric, haunting "Woman Driving, Man Sleeping," which easily grabs a spot in the top five Eels songs ever. 

Sometimes it feels like some of these songs beg for a heavier, more technically-oriented treatment that Eels can't really deliver, but other times the simplicity of the approach works wonders.  Once again, inconsistency rears its head, but hey--it's gotta be more interesting than whatever Beck put out that year.

7.5/10