Mark Everett (also known as the letter E) always looks tired to me. The eternal five o’clock shadow, the cotton-mouthed vocals… this guy just needs a good night’s rest. Lucky enough for us, though, his front project Eels have been kicking out nap time indie pop for almost fifteen years and the group’s latest, Tomorrow Morning, won’t be putting anyone to sleep halfway through.
Concluding a purported trilogy that began with 2009’s Hombre Lobo and this year’s End Times, Tomorrow Morning borrows a page from ‘60s psychedelia, throwing tape loops, string sections, and distorted bass lines into the trademark Eels stew of electric pianos, warm organs, and glockenspiels. “After the Earthquake” and “The Morning” are the perfect soundtrack for counting sheep, while “Baby Loves Me” bops with a light funk bounce and “This Is Where It Gets Good” gallops along with a propulsive beat, sweeping strings cutting in and out like a knife. “Spectacular Girl” could have been a super catchy alternative single fifteen years ago, a distant cousin to Beautiful Freak’s wallflower ballads.
E gets his swagger on with “The Man” (“Everyone is a fan,” he brags) and the big tent revival piano gospel of “Looking Up” deserves a hallelujah or two. Everett has always sounded like a Brian Wilson for moping kids, and the organ murmurs and church bells on “That’s Not Her Way” certainly won’t rush anyone out of bed. The closing “Mystery of Life” borrows Jack White’s “Seven Nation Army” bassline while E sings a less stupid version of ICP’s “Miracles”, complete with la-la-la’s and brand new day keyboard swells.
I’ve successfully stretched the sleeping metaphor well beyond its welcome, but never has an artist’s music been so perfectly suited for an everyday activity. Some bands make music for driving, music for making out— Eels make lying in bed all day music. Tomorrow Morning is never melancholy or depressing, but downtempo enough to keep you under the blankets for an extra 45 minutes. It’s an album chock-full of warmth, toy piano, and aw golly optimism that’s sure to stick with you, even after you wake up.
