Eels – End Times (2010)

End Times is a classic break-up album. It features many different sides of a painful break-up. Different songs on the album are about sadness, loneliness, anger, remorse or about starting to feel better and living life again. The album seems to have a storyline from problems in the relationship, through the actual break-up to sadness and finally to getting over it. In addition to the themes of break-up, this album also deals with getting older quite a lot. When I first listened to the album, I wasn't too excited about it. It wasn't as good as most of the earlier Eels albums. But then, I broke up with my girlfriend shortly after I had bought this album and it gained much more meaning as a result. Many of the lyrics resonated with my situation and it definitely didn't help that this was playing when we were discussing the break-up in the first place.


From the above, you might think I would have trouble listening to this album now. That's not really the case though. It just made this album a lot more meaningful. It does frequently remind me of the events around that time, but I don't see that as a very bad thing. Most of my favourite albums tell stories of my own life and that's what makes them so great. Where other Eels albums make me think of E's life as a storyteller, this album is a little bit about me as well, because of living through some of the lyrics.

The album starts with appropriately named song The Beginning, which is about reminiscing the relationship with all its ups and downs. This song paints a picture of a happy time before the break-up. This is followed with Gone Man, which is surprisingly upbeat for a song like this. I guess in this song, the storyteller is a bit angry at himself for all the stupid things he's done. In My Younger Days is a song about break-ups and how they were easier when you were young. When you get older, the break-ups take more time and you feel quite lonely as a result since older people rarely hang out with their friends all the time anymore. Everyone's too busy. Mansion of Los Feliz tells about staying at home and not really feeling like doing anything. Break-up may lead to a situation where you really need other people, but you still don't feel like seeing anyone. A Line In the Dirt is one of my favourite songs on the album. It's another memory from the late stages of the relationship and the realisation that it's over. It has a classic line "She locked herself in the bathroom again, so I am pissing in the yard". End Times is about accepting that the relationship is really over and there's no going back. Paradise Blues doesn't seem to have a direct relation to the theme of the album, but perhaps I'm wrong. It's about a suicide bomber who's taking people with him as he goes. I guess someone might feel like taking their own bad feelings out on others in some ways, but I'm still not sure if this is a good analogy or not. Nowadays has excellent acoustic guitars and harmonicas and even though the melody is really simple it's just right for this kind of storytelling song where E is contemplating his life in a larger scale and how he feels disconnected of this world as a result of the break-up. Unhinged is another angrier song that is more about agony than sadness. It has a great lo-fi sound. I Need a Mother, if I understand it correctly, is about the need for someone to console you when you're sad. It's sometimes difficult, especially for men, to get someone to talk to seriously and get understanding after a break-up when you're older. Little Bird is about being lonely and really missing the other person. In the song, the little bird seems like his only friend. The album ends with On My Feet, that's the first song where the story turns to getting over the break-up and feeling better.

Eels usually have really good music videos. There's lots of crazy stuff happening in them and E's stage persona comes alive in strange settings. For this album it might've been a bit strange to do something crazy and, indeed, the music video for Little Bird is just E playing guitar on his porch singing this song. It's very simple, but effective, since it brings out the intimacy of the song.

I have this album on vinyl. It came with a bonus EP of four songs printed on 7" vinyl. I like the idea that you get something extra for buying the physical copy. I don't believe artists could go back to releasing only music that people have to buy individually, but I do think it's nice to give something extra for us who still buy music.

As my frequent readers know, Eels is one of my all time favourite artists. End Times is one of my favourite albums from the later era of the band. I've always liked the more melancholic tunes from any band and I also like when singers sound honest. This album is very intimate and sounds very genuine and that's why I like it even though musically it might not be that innovative.

Listen to the album on Spotify.