Wonderful, Glorious
Wonderful, Glorious | ||||
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Studio album by Eels | ||||
Released | February 4, 2013 | |||
Recorded | 2012, The Compound, Silver Lake, Los Angeles and No-Hitsville U.S.A., Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California, United States | |||
Genre | Indie rock | |||
Length | 49:41 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | E Works/Vagrant | |||
Producer | E | |||
Eels chronology | ||||
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Singles from Wonderful, Glorious | ||||
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Wonderful, Glorious is the tenth studio album by U.S. indie rock band Eels, released on February 4, 2013 on Vagrant Records.[1] The album was produced by band leader Mark Oliver Everett. A worldwide tour has also been planned to accompany the album release.[2]
Recording
The songs were recorded in band leader Mark Oliver Everett's home studio in Los Feliz, Los Angeles,[3] which was built for this album, after his previous home studio became too cramped for effectively recording.[4] In an unusual choice for an Eels album, Everett decided to work on the songs by jamming with fellow Eels members[5] and composing at home, only drawing upon sparse lyrics from his notebooks.[3] He got the idea of collaborating with these musicians in particular after his last two tours and three albums featured a relatively stable line-up to the Eels musical collective.[6]
Reception
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 76 (26 reviews)[7] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
A.V. Club | B+[8] |
About.com | [9] |
American Songwriter | [10] |
BBC Music | Favorable[11] |
Consequence of Sound | [12] |
Drowned in Sound | 6/10[13] |
The Guardian | [14] |
NME | 8/10[15] |
The Observer | [16] |
Paste | 6/10[17] |
The Skinny | [18] |
Sputnikmusic | 3.8/5[19] |
The Skinny's Stu Lewis gave the album four out of five stars praising the harder rock sound of the album calling it "work few contemporary indie rock bands could better"[18] and Eric Magnuson's review in American Songwriter writes that the lyrics are demanding "like [Everett] has a knife to your throat, creating a wonderful paradox".[10] Jude Clarke of BBC Music summarizes her review by saying the album "continues the band's long-running, idiosyncratic and distinctively creative career path."[11] Maddy Costa of The Guardian also praised the album's hard rock sound, noting that the lyrics are "delivered in a growl so jittery and aggressive that gentleness is obliterated."[14] About.com's review by Tim Grierson emphasizes the diversity in songwriting, stating that Wonderful, Glorious "offer[s] variations on familiar styles and delivering a few delightful curve balls in the process."[9]
Several reviewers have noted the positive and uplifting themes of the lyrics, such as The Observer's Phil Mongredien[16] and Jon Clark of Drowned in Sound whose review stated that "the negativity often present in Eels records is less noticeable here; in fact the record contains many optimistic, if particularly frank and defiant, testimonials."[13] Michael Gallucci of The A.V. Club writes that the lyrics express E's relief after Eels' concept album trilogy.[8] Writing for NME, Kevin E. G. Perry contrasts the optimism of the lyrics with E's personal tragedies, concluding that "part of the triumph of this record is just how upbeat he sounds while talking about everything from love and loss to mortality itself."[15] Paste's Ryan Reed considers the positivity "awkwardly forced" leading to an album of "lifeless non-revelations married to engrossing tunes".[17]
Track listing
All songs written by E
- "Bombs Away" – 5:23
- "Kinda Fuzzy" – 3:38
- "Accident Prone" – 2:48
- "Peach Blossom" – 4:05
- "On the Ropes" – 3:10
- "The Turnaround" – 4:49
- "New Alphabet" – 4:08
- "Stick Together" – 3:42
- "True Original" – 3:48
- "Open My Present" – 3:09
- "You're My Friend" – 3:47
- "I Am Building a Shrine" – 3:35
- "Wonderful, Glorious" – 3:43
- Bonus tracks on Deluxe Edition
- "Hold On to Your Hat" – 0:46
- "Your Mama Warned You" – 3:09
- "I'm Your Brave Little Soldier" – 2:51
- "There's Something Strange" – 3:13
- "Happy Hour (We're Gonna Rock)" – 3:50
- "That's Not Really Funny" (Live 2011) – 4:55
- "In My Dreams" (Live 2010) – 3:07
- "Prizefighter" (Live 2010) – 3:01
- "Looking Up" (Live 2011) – 5:06
- "What I Have to Offer" (Live at KEXP) – 2:56
- "I Like the Way This Is Going" (Live at KEXP) – 2:13
- "Spectacular Girl" (Live at KEXP) – 3:32
- "Summer in the City" (Live at KEXP) – 2:12
Personnel
- Eels
- E – vocals, guitar, production
- The Chet – guitar
- Knuckles – drums
- Koool G Murder – bass guitar
- P-Boo – guitar
References
- ↑ McCormick, Luke (2010-05-20). "New Eels Album Out in August". Spin. Buzzmedia. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ↑ Roffman, Michael (2010-11-27). "Eels announce 2013 tour dates". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fusilli, Jim (2013-02-04). "Eels Swim in a New Direction with Wonderful, Glorious". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
- ↑ Lake, Dave (2013-02-06). "Tell Me About That Album: Wonderful, Glorious". Seattle Weekly. Voice Media Group. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
- ↑ Eisen, Benjy (2013-02-06). "Eels' Wonderful Glorious New Makeover". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow Publishers Company, LP. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
- ↑ Dionne, Zach (2013-02-12). "Eels Talk Full Band Approach on New LP Wonderful, Glorious". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
- ↑ "Wonderful, Glorious Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gallucci, Michael (2013-02-04). "Eels: Wonderful, Glorious". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Grierson, Tim (2013-02-02). "Eels – Wonderful, Glorious Review". About.com. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Magnuson, Eric (2013-02-06). "Eels: Wonderful, Glorious". American Songwriter. American Songwriter, LLC. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Clarke, Jude (2013-01-25). "Eels Wonderful, Glorious Review". BBC. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
- ↑ Bray, Ryan (2013-02-07). "Album Review: Eels – Wonderful, Glorious". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Clark, Jon (2013-02-04). "Eels – Wonderful, Glorious". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Costa, Maddy (2013-01-31). "Eels: Wonderful, Glorious (Vagrant)". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2013-01-31.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Perry, Kevin E. G. (2013-01-31). "Eels – Wonderful, Glorious". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Mongredien, Phil (2013-02-02). "Eels: Wonderful, Glorious (E Works/Vagrant)". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Reed, Ryan (2013-02-05). "Eels: Wonderful, Glorious". Paste. Wolfgang's Vault. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lewis, Stu (2013-01-23). "Eels – Wonderful, Glorious". The Skinny. Radge Media. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ↑ Viney, Joseph (2013-02-13). "Album Review - Eels: Wonderful, Glorious". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
External links
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