Beautiful Freak

Stunning album, vulnerable and vicious, being mean has never sounded so good.

It's got a lot to offer, though it's got a very "casual singer-songwriter" feeling that gets annoying in an album-length dosage, sort of in a Divine Comedy way. Sounds like a Wilco demo album that just needed a little clean finesse to reach its peak of potential

A satisfyingly melancholy album. It sounds like weezer if they lost their sense of humour and slightly like nirvana

I’d like to give this 3.5. I liked the lyrics . . . Kinda sad.

kinda mid as well

Einige nette Songs (Rags to rags, Not ready yet), insgesamt aber für meinen Geschmack nicht gut gealtert

Decent album, never heard it but quite nice 3/5

Very Wilco-esque... I liked it a lot

Another day of "not sure why this is on here." Not unpleasant, but not inspiring either. I just listened to "The Bends" by Radiohead and stylistically it feels similar which is to say a bit boring with forced singing.

'Novocaine' is a brilliant, quirky indie song. The rest is just pretty standard quirky indie songs.

I knew "Novocain for the soul" or at least I've "liked" it on spotify. I like the line where he says "life is hard and so am I" or something like that. Susan's house is a cool way of doing commentary. I'm loving all these songs. MY BELOVED MONSTER OH MY GOD IT'S FROM SHREK WHAT.

Кто это?

7/10

Classic "Oh, THAT'S who does this song"/ "I haven't heard this song in 20 years" on the first song. The rest of the stuff is just inessential. I don't want to give this a 2 because it's not completely awful. But why is this an album that I have to hear before I die?

A very solid three stars.

Well worth a listen, need to explore catalog more

Interesting songs. But musically simplistic.

That has to be in the 1-hit wonders part of the list.

27/10/2026 I feel like this is a difficult album to place, because it wasn't the worst thing that I have heard. Solid enough I guess. Spotify listeners: 1.6 million

This album smells like an "American teenager's bedroom from the 2000s." Was I expecting to hear a song from Shrek on here? No. Is the album bad? No. Is there anything special about it? Not really. A solid 3 stars.

Introduced years ago with NOVOCAINE (insanely fantastic song) and stayed for the alt-rock experimentalism. Lyrics feel stream of conscious, with a poetic structure and wit to match.

Reminded me of Odelay by beck. Liked the mix of genres

teenage angst! I probably would have loved this at 16

awesome record.

Didn’t mind this. It wasn’t anything that wowed me, but I definitely enjoyed moment.

Beautiful Freak has some great 90s alt rock songs and pop moments, but it ultimately doesn't do enough to carve out its own path. The fuzzy rock guitars and dejected lyrics help give the entire album a very cathartic, downcast mood. Songs like "Rags to Rags," "Not Ready Yet," and "Guest List" have irresistible melodies. Some of the lyrics are very inspired - "Jesus and his lawyer are coming back" - but others feel too cliched and don't hit. The title track has some of the best lyrics on the album, but as a ballad it feels stilted. The second half is weaker than the first and doesn't introduce many new ideas. And that's the album's biggest weakness: as great as the moments on these songs are, it doesn't do anything that you can't find on better albums. Incredibly close to a 4 but it's just not quite strong enough.

i really liked some of these songs and would relisten. i had never heard of this album before and im happy i have now. it had this eerie rock pop mix to it and i thought it was good

Very much the same idea slightly changed over and over again. Not unpleasant

Number: 292 Familiarity: Moderate (3) Rating: 4 Before: ======= Yes, I do like the Eels. After : ======= Low 4 to high 3, I'll go with 4.

Yeah, blast from the past

Album of two halves. Enjoyed the first half driving to work. Didn’t enjoy the second half driving home.

For an album that's classified as alternative rock, post punk this album was surprisingly easy listening!

Track 1 starts with low fidelity fake vinyl scratchy noises-I hate that gimmick. Other than that OK album, doesn't grab me but not horrible.

Definitely impressed me more than I thought it would. Familiar with three tracks. Second half not as strong but still interesting.

Great album. Lots of memories made to this soundtrack.

American band with 4 albums in the UK Top 10 so that explains its inclusion. The Shrek song is really good, though.

Great album full of super interesting songs and impeccable production

Ah, the Eels. I've heard 3 random pieces of their output throughout the years, which are all quite different; one of them was "Novocaine For the Soul", which I knew was on this album. It's a bit what I expected: eclectic indie rock in the vein of that first song. It's pretty good, enjoyable, but nothing incredible.

3.5 for the monsters song from shrek

I've heard of the eels. But I couldn't assign the band correctly. I found the album very funny. The somewhat rough voice of the singer caused me to occasionally spee up. But that wasn't so bad. I think if I'm not a fan of the album, I'll still listen to it again. 4/5

Interesting collection of songs, I guess its alt rock but really carries a very soft emotional core. The opening tracks are strong and instantly grabbed me, the sampling and structure of the songs get weird at times but it all worked for me. The lazy melancholy piano parts really set a bittersweet tone that the vocals match up with. This was a great find.

Novocaine for the soul - 5 Susan's house - 4 Rags to rags - 3 Beautiful freak - 4 Not ready yet - 4 My beloved monster - 3 Flower - 3 Guest list - 4 Mental - 3 Spunky - 3 Your lucky day in hell - 3 Manchild - 3

Did not have a ton of time with this one but it's not the worst but not great either.

Novocaine for the Soul was such a hit in the alternative rock sphere back in the day. A couple of familiar songs, although I am not sure I fully listened to the entire album....and now I have, and it is a great album. I would absolutely pick this up if I came across it. It has a lot of great tracks and the majority stood out for me. Mental was probably my stand out track. Solid 4 stars.

This cover art is frickin' terrifying but the music is unexpectedly great? There is so much 90s music I missed since that was the peak of my zealous Christian music only days, ha. it's dark and sad and unexpectedly complex sometimes. rounding up from a 3.5

Not bad!

Dull 90s pop 1.5

My initial thoughts, were a strong first half, falls off as the album goes on. But after a couple more listens I put that down to front loading the singles that the were so familiar and there's plenty to enjoy throughout

Nihilism just hit different in the 90’s, we don’t have that sauce anymore. Not every song is a hit but they were really pushing something here

yes, yes, yes, the shrek song, but this album absolutely slaps as a cohesive piece of art. I'm biased because i've been a casual Eels fan since high school (though Hombre Lobo is my favourite full album) but it's such a fun time listening to these songs.

I enjoyed this!

Novocaine for the Soul is a ubiquitous late 90s rock anthem.

Poppy grunge, whats to like?

Good album. Enjoyable listen but didn’t entirely rock my world

So I listened to this on Friday. On Monday, when I was going to write about it ... I couldn't remember anything about it. Listen again ... It's okay, even tried a different album - newer - I don't think I need to come back to it.

Ja, dit is lekker. Een beetje alternatief, verder geen idee welk genre ik hier precies op moet plakken, in ieder geval iets hipsterigs. Relaxte stem, atypische maar niet te bijzondere liedjes, geweldige productie en af en toe wat fuzzy gitaarwerk om van te smullen. Dit vind ik fijne muziek. Ik had wel graag iets meer tracks zoals 'Not Ready Yet' gehad, maargoed. 5 sterren, een beetje geholpen door de 2en eerder deze week.

Pretty middling album. Some strong music but I found most to be pretty uninspired. Not Ready Yet was my fav song of the album. Mental and Guest List were my other highlights

So many better versions of this dude. Ironic delivery. Droll lyrics. Etc. Give me Cake or Soul Coughing.

449/1089 what the HELL is THAT okay this was a nice indie ish album faves: not ready yet, your lucky day in hell, susan’s house, manchild 67/100

Good alt rock album. Singer reminds me of Mac Miller if he became a lead singer of a grunge band instead of a rapper. Good variety within the tracklist as well

Not that bad, but still a very low energy record. It sits in a longing, rejecting, depressed mood from start to finish. The songs fit one another and the style stays consistent, which gives the album a clear identity even if that identity is mostly grey and withdrawn. The production is well handled. Everything sounds clean and carefully placed, with enough space for the quiet, slightly off-kilter arrangements to breathe. Nothing feels messy or accidental. The problem is that the whole thing stays in the same emotional lane for too long. What might have felt deep and relatable in teenage years now just feels flat and distant. There is a certain charm in how committed it is to its own sadness, and the songwriting has a quiet stubbornness that keeps it from collapsing completely. Still, it never really lifts or shifts. It just stays there. Beautiful Freak is an ok album. Well made, coherent, and easy to respect, but hard to love once you’ve moved past the age when this kind of mood feels like the whole world.

I wasn’t sure what to think, especially after the first exposure to the album was the nightmare fuel of the cover, the little girl with the photoshopped giant eyes. But this is that mid-90s indie rock that wouldn’t be out of place on a soundtrack for a movie involving young adults. There’s a little bit of anger and pain that you might not expect, but it goes down smooth.

Meh

A strong 3.5. Mid-90s alt radio rock of the highest quality. A really smart and quirky record.

This album holds up pretty well 30 years later

Couldn't really form an opinion on this but theres something about it I do not like.

Ça me remémore la fin des années 90s.

Timbre de voix super Jeff Tweedy (et la musique très Wilco aussi par moment). Ça amené effectivement une touche nostalgique 90s. Je ne connaissais pas et j'espère y revenir. Il y a des bouts un peu plus jazzy avec des séquences harmoniques assez out of the box et des belles instrumentations dont une petite chorale sur Flower, une contrebasse sur Susan's house et du banjo et de la mandoline à d'autres endroits. Par contre le cover art est pas mal laid et on peut laisser l'esthétique "big eye" dans le passé, ici je ne suis pas nostalgique.

Adoré. Excellent indie rock.

Typical grunge/alternative 90s rock sound. This one doesn't really have much substance as I would like and the songwriting is kind of drab. Music isn't anything to write home about. Won't be coming back to revisit this one.

I don’t really know how to feel about this. It’s a great album, but I’m not sure if I’ll listen to it again. It’s really just bizarre but at the same time it’s pretty nice. So this just leaves me confused.

A downer record, but probably better if stoned while listening. Couple of really good songs-Novacaine, Mental, Your Luck Day. lots of alt rock influences like Flaming Lips. Pretty good, solid 3/5.

It was fine, nothing too special. It reminded me of the 90s stuff my parents listen to, but some of the better things from that era.

I used to love this album and all things Eels - but now 15-20 years later it just doesn't captivate me like it used to. Susan's House and My Beloved Monster are a couple of my still favorites though.

Opening number “Novocaine for the Soul” tinky piano amused me with the indie rock sound. “Susan’s House” chorus sounds a bit like a kids song and then there is the dark, twisted narrative. Not an uplifting album lyrically, but has an upbeat sound on most songs. I like their weirdness.

This is going into my rotation

Kinda angsty. I liked Susan's House and Guest List.

At times this feels like the sound of the 90s distilled into an album, and whilst it never really manages to maintain that level of consistency throughout, it was a far more enjoyable listen than the album cover might lead you to believe.

Banal concepts approached with no poetry or originality. 90s edgy teen slop but written by a grown man.

Ok

I like Eels. It’s a solid album

it was all right, not a big fan of the lyrics but the sonics were good

01) Novocaine for the Soul - 10,0 02) Susan's House - 8,5 03) Rags to Rags - 8,0 04) Beautiful Freak - 8,0 05) Not Ready Yet - 7,5 06) My Beloved Monster - 7,5 07) Flower - 7,0 08) Guest List - 8,0 09) Mental - 7,5 10) Spunky - 8,0 11) Your Lucky Day in Hell - 8,0 12) Manchild - 8,0 TOTAL: 8,00 (80/100) Current ranking: 284/1047

I went through an Eels phase about 20 years ago. What sets this album apart is it’s orchestration. Inventive quirky and fun.

This is one of those albums that I always forget exists, but then it comes along and I listen to it and think, “I should get into Eels.” But I never do. Still, it’s always a pleasure to listen to this one. E’s vocals are pretty unremarkable, so the real magic is in the sampling and instrumentation. Each song feels fresh and different than the last, touching on several different styles. It’s hard for me to pick standout songs as I love them all, but Susan’s House and Beautiful Freak stand out to me. Of course, Novocaine For The Soul is a classic.

I always liked My Beloved Monster from Shrek and never knew who the band even was. Overall, not a bad album.

It's good to the point of listening to the rest of their music and reading is quick bio, it's got me interested which is pretty good

What an awful cover. What a boring album. Why could this possibly be relevant. What are we doing here. There's a real chance this just got me on the wrong day but if so, man it was the wrong day.

This had some moments of instrumentation that were alright, but never enough. The vocals don't do anything for me. I won't think of this.

This is one of those that was quite the ride. When it first started maybe I wasn't ready for it or in the mood for it or whatever, but I was kinda hating it. Then it went on and I kept listening and it started winning me over. I have to go back and listen more but I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of those I wind up liking more and more. 3.5 stars as of now.

Lyrically just not my bag at all, loser coded

Essential 90s indie rock. I love Eels so much. Novocaine for the Soul, Flower, and My Beloved Monster were my top 3 but the tag was also pretty dang good.

Pretty underwhelming. Very late 90s generic. Didn't hate it but didn't love it either.

Mediocre, but cool to see a song used in shrek out in the wild

Fine.

Just a lil weird

So odd

90s...ok

OK. 3/5

I haven’t heard this one in over 20 years. I really liked it when it came out because the music was different from what was out at the time and I was suckered in by a rock album with soul samples. Giving it a relisten, the music is still excellent. Lyrically, it’s a little pretentious. Overall, it still holds up to me. 4 stars Also, ‘The Look You Give That Guy’ by the same band is such a pretty song. Needed to shout that one out.