Album Review: Eels, Cookie Happened

Nobody could ever accuse Mark ‘E’ Everett of being overly cheery, and with good reason. Even a cursory read of his memoir, Things The Grandchildren Should Know, reveals that Everett’s life has had more than its fair share of tragedy. To be honest, it’s a wonder he can still get up in the morning, let alone create some beautiful, if understandably downbeat, art.

‘Cap In Hand’, the lead single on Cookie Happened, is propelled by a bouncy bassline, which is decidedly at odds with lyrics about “All the broken people”, and how the divisions between us appear to be getting bigger. There’s a similar dichotomy between the melody and words on the fuzzy, guitar-driven ‘Lost And Barking’, and the gorgeous ‘Congratulations To Me’, where Everett’s baritone has a touch of Matt Berninger.

Underneath most of the arrangements is some sublime orchestration, which is never allowed to get saccharine, from the opening ‘Clobbered’ to the wonderful ‘I’m On Standby’. The latter lists a litany of minor disasters, but E wants you to know that he has your back when the excrement spatters the rotating breeze-blower.

Elsewhere, the Waitsean majesty of standout ‘One Razzle, One Dazzle’ adds an element of hopefulness amid the chaos. For the most part, however, these are delightfully downtrodden tales of “A broken man who’s picking up the pieces”.

• Out now.