On Extreme Witchcraft, the always willing to experiment Eels has given fans something to sink their teeth into. The fourteenth studio album finds Mark Oliver Everett working with John Parish for the first time since 2001’s Souljacker and the end result is better than that predecessor. Everett has stated that the album contains a sense of “cautious optimism and a bruised sense of romance” and those traits flow throughout each track.
The album opens with a crack as the upbeat rocker “Amateur Hour” buzzes forth with a “Paperback Writer” inspiration before the distortion drips into the first single “Good Night on Earth”. That pumping offering uses overdriven warbling guitars and along with the swaggering garage rocker “The Magic”, calls to mind recent Black Keys efforts. The lazy loose groove of “Strawberries and Popcorn” exerts the positive freedom of being alone (perhaps not by choice), while “Steam Engine” fires up clanging guitars and percussion which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Tom Waits record.
Mid-album the shift is away from the rockers and into more experimentation; some are excellent, like the pulsing disco beat of the Beck-sounding party starter “Grandfather Clock Strikes Twelve”. Some are not so solid, like the meandering “Stumbling Bee”, or the morose piano ballad “So Anyway”. Perhaps the most successful is “Better Living Through Desperation” which delivers hip-shaking distorted riffs and a dirty groove before brief flourishes of bright majestic breaks.
E never sits still as “What It Isn’t” jarringly goes for everything in one song with soothing classical passages slamming into hip-hop beats around screaming yet all the harshness evaporates for the sweet pop strumming of “Learning While I Lose”. Between those varying degrees of sound (along with the rocking opening run) Extreme Witchcraft proves Everett is willing to let it all hang out sonically, delivering enjoyable results.
