Eels Talk To ClashMusic

Having zig-zagged his way across the American rock landscape for fifteen years and completed his autobiography in the process, Mark ‘E’ Everett had nothing to prove to anybody. Announcing he was taking time off in 2006, fans could never have expected the songwriter to return with his most ambitious project to date.

Beginning with ‘Hombre Lobo’ and climaxing with the upcoming album ‘Tomorrow Morning’ Eels have completed a three-part story arc, a concept trilogy unlike anything they have attempted before. Tackling the themes of lust, love, loss and redemption it is clear that E is in no mood to be sucked under by the mundane nature of day-to-day life.

Opening with ‘Hombre Lobo’, the conception of the trilogy has its roots in the period after the release of his memoirs. “Originally I thought it was going to be a two part story” E explains “but then it turned into a three part story. It changed into three parts quite early on.”

A filthy garage rock ode to teenage lust, ‘Hombre Lobo’ was a ferocious opening chapter. “I often felt when I was making that record that it would make an interesting play, like as a traditional story. But as songs I always felt like they were sales pitches, a guy trying to get a girl. Showing that he’s the man.” Stylistically, the album borrows from nuggets of garage rock, a sweaty ride through some of the forgotten areas of American music.

An acclaimed success, ‘Hombre Lobo’ was followed by the stark ‘End Times’ collection. Featuring E alone in his home studio, the stripped back recording revealed much about the way the songwriter approaches his craft. A perfectionist, the long hours in the studio took their toll. “That was probably the hardest one to make - partly because of the subject matter and also partly because of the loneliness” E explains. “With ‘End Times’ I was in a similar situation as to when I first decided to write a book. I naively thought that because I was going to do something alone it would be easy. Then it turns out that those things are the hardest to do. I thought like “oh I’ll just sit down with my old four track recorder and sing some songs”. At times it was difficult to record.”

A beautiful and endearing record, ‘End Times’ acted as a sublime foil to ‘Hombre Lobo’, the poignant reminder of the affects of excess. However E wasn’t finished, with Eels new album ’Tomorrow Morning’ crafting an elegant climax to the trilogy. Recruiting his beloved group to complete the album, E benefited from some outside input. “I had two ideas in my mind at one point, I had one idea to make an album using colder sounding electronic influences possibly in an apartment in Berlin. But I also wanted to make a really celebratory album about all the things I love about life” he claims. “Then it occurred to me to combine those two ideas into one idea, which made it interesting as it became its own thing. It was a challenge, as how do you warm up a cold sound?”

Entering the studio with rough drafts for the new album, E soon found that the new arrangements provided by the band drastically altered his perception of the material. It seems the re-union was welcomed by the songwriter, with E revealing “I like to have people in the room who can do something I wouldn’t be able to do on my own, otherwise there’d be no point in having them there.”

Released next month, ‘Tomorrow Morning’ is one of the most vibrant Eels records to date. Known for his often bleak approach, E seems to relish the changes life can throw our way. “I would just be so bored if it was always the same kind of thing. The artists I was always interested in when I was checking out music, I always found it exciting when people evolved and changed a lot” said the singer. “That said, you can’t do it just for the sake of trying to be versatile you have to do it for the sake of what’s in you.”

Although the trilogy came after the publication of his autobiography ‘Things The Grandchildren Should Know’ it seems that the two share a mutual evocation of the powers redemption can hold, even down to the cover of ‘Tomorrow Morning’ chosen by E himself. “It’s a Jackaranda tree, and right now they’ve all bloomed round my neighbourhood. It’s a really lovely shade of purple but it’s only in bloom for a short time so you have to rally appreciate it while it lasts. You’ve got to appreciate the good things while they’re there. I just try to do something that suits it, in my mind.”

Looking back on all three albums, E reveals that the vastly complex project was spurred by just a few simple thoughts. “I was interested in these very basic emotions which we all experience as humans. Desire, breaking up and then to me the most important parts, perhaps, is the last part – the end doesn’t have to be the end. You can get another chance.”

Eels new album ‘Tomorrow Morning’ is out on August 23rd.