Reviews (page 8 of 9)
It was ok
28th September 2021 Listened in the morning before work, chilled one before one of jen's boys came for the evening and Liverpool smashed Porto away again. I like the juxtaposition between the innocent melodies and lyrics and the darker themes. Very autumn 90s.
glimrende rock, lytbart
Indie-pop, melakolsk, melodisk
To be honest I kind of wanted this one to be over pretty quickly. I feel like I've been recommended a bunch of albums from the 90's performed by a bunch of dudes who are decent at writing, but fucking suck at singing. Like, I don't even think this guy would be that bad if he sort of stayed in his lane. But he decides to do some highs that I find feel like nails on a chalkboard. It's also got my beloved monster. Which I first heard in Shrek, so that's kind of fire.
Kinda reminds me of beck.
Creo que está bueno pero
Novocaine For the Soul is a fantastic 90's alt-rock for me, but I wanted to be blown away by the rest of this album and didn't quite get there.
Brilliant opening. Sputters out but some good moments
Feeling pretty tired of this style of depressed, quirky white-boy genius type, which seems heavily over-represented in this list.
Before I sputter out........ Novocaine for the Soul was absolutely everywhere of course, and if you wanted to introduce people to what was going on in the late 90s music scene, then this wouldn't be the worst place to start. Can't sustain the magic of the title track over the duration, but certainly warm & strong nostalgia vibes
This is definitely something I could have gotten into when it was big.
Better than I thought from the name and the album art, but cant tell if this is just a better/more influential album in a genre I cannot appreciate or just a mediocre album.
“Novocaine for the Soul” was always my favorite song by The Flaming Lips until I just learned it was by the Eels. It’s probably my 20th favorite Eels tune. This album is pretty good, but below the quality of other Eels albums (Hombre Lobo and especially Wonderful Glorious). Disturbingly coolish artwork. A solid 3⭐️⭐️⭐️
Enjoyable, but got a bit lost on the way.
Rock indie.
Really enjoyed the instrumentals, and the singer was great vocally. Lyrically it did feel like it tried too hard to be edgy and deep though, but that can be ignored by just not paying attention to the words. Still a shortcoming of the record though.
I went through an Eels phase earlier in my life. I've always liked a handful of songs (Spotify tells me I "liked" 4 before listening to this album). I ultimately decided Eels is watered down Beck, and this album proves that theory. Not like that's a bad thing, I still enjoy Eels and this album. It's just not a desert island album. Definitely belongs on the list. And Novacaine For The Soul is an all-timer.
Spoken section of "Susan's House" reminds me of "Shia LaBeouf". Sounds like 90s alt rock, quite pleasant. "My beloved monster and me" is the hit(ish) that I recognise. Very good closing track, feels exactly like the end of an album.
Good album. Listened a second time.
i like the obvious 90's sound to this album. pretty decent albeit forgettable.
Good 90s rock sound, a bit more sweet and less dirty and grungy sounding.
It was alright. 7.3/10
Völlig unterschätzte Band! Mag den Sound gern
I always liked the song 'beautiful freak' and it's good to get the chance to hear the others. I expected it to be a bit 90's rock/pop and samie but actually I found it quite varied. There was a line about there being truth in lies or something which set me off on a right ponder.
Not Es best, but palatable.
some nice sounds. Muted ELO style at times. soulful and sad
Sounds like an early 90s alt rock album. Wasn't really thrilled or disappointed with this one. Made me wonder about people that say "yeah, eels is the best band, imo"
lol nov 4 the soul
Largely forgettable pop-pish songs but a few good ones (eg. Manchild, Novocaine for the Soul)
Surprisingly accessible and enjoyable. I was impressed - listened three times.
hmm
Eerie and accessibly brooding.
A bit samey throughout
Interesting, nothing crazy for me though. Raspy voice kinda gets old imo
Songs are pleasant enough but it just sort of floats along in the background and never really grabbed my attention. Stoner music.
tooo sloooooow
Cuoricino per My Beloved Monster. Degli Eels però preferisco gli album Electro Shock Blues del 1998 e Blinking Lights and Other Revelations del 2005.
Buenas melodías. Tranquilo de escuchar. Pop relajado. Algo novedoso. Sin sobresaltos
My only hearing of Eels was from a song on the Hole’s soundtrack which, unfortunately, is not on this album. But I’m excited to listen to this since I enjoyed that song a lot. Creepy cover of daddy’s little beautiful freak crawling around on the ground. This feels like classic 90’s alternative in the vein of Sugar Ray and Shawn Mullins which I like. These alternative albums always remind me of hanging out by a pool in the summer or someone skateboarding through their neighborhood. I lied when I spoke earlier, there was a second song I had heard from Eels! My Beloved Monster is also on the Shrek soundtrack so it’s a good day when I can talk about Holes and Shrek in the same post. I hate to constantly bring it up, but this another good album. I say that because I thought this list would be the best albums. I’ve had it on in the background and have enjoyed it thoroughly but this is going in the same bucket as many other albums have so far.
Pretty good, maybe a 3.5
Eels és un grup que cau bé. La biografia del líder, Mark Oliver Everett, llegida fa pocs anys, va afegir valor a un àlbum que en el seu moment vaig comprar, atret pel single "Novocaine for the soul", i que sempre m'ha semblat agradable i inspirat.
Melancholy pop about fun topics such as unrequited love, suicide and mental illness is usually a downer, but Eels does a great job here on their debut album. Their sound becomes more fully formed in their later releases but this is solid effort. You can hear the late 90s lofi influences here ... Sparklehorse, Mercury Rev, Yo La Tengo etc, it was a pretty good time for the indie music scene IMO.
j,ai trouvé cela tres relax j.ai aimé . la pochette est déroutante versus la musique
J'ai bien aimé écouté l'album ce matin avec mon café. Un beau petit album.
Really nice! First one I was totally unfamiliar with. A good representation of 90s alt rock. It requires a few more listens, I think.
I think I enjoyed this album, it was fun and weird - which I liked. I doubt I'll listen again, so I can't go 4 or 5 stars but I was pleased to hear the Shrek song.
Some of these songs were featured in the 2001 hit film Shrek. Some of them were also not.
Not my type thing
Quite liked the grunge sound and some good songs there
wallflowers meet in the middle near everclear? 90s.... ya this is why folks give 90s rock a hard time
Moody but layered
Not my cup of tea, still a great album
Interesting. I'm Surprised to see this band have 13 albums and i never heard of them. The album was relaxing and a few fun rifts. Reminded me of beck
Never heard of Eels but quite enjoyed.
A little bit like Beck with a strong 90s rock sound.
Doido.
First 2 tracks are weird. Some good melodies but seems like they're trying too hard to be strange. Beautiful freak. Not bad song repetitive lyrics. Not ready yet: best song so far. Very 90s. Overall not bad musically has some nice touches. Array of instruments and nice progressions. Lyrics are very pedestrian and predictable? While others seem random to be random. Maybe too weird for me personally. Some instruments seemed out of place. Some recording effects are great would be interested in learning a bit about some of them.
Dated but fine.
Not exactly bad, but aside from a few standout tracks (Laura's house, Lucky day in Hell) it feels rather forgettable.
a chill listen
Surprisingly decent alt rock but missing one or two hit songs to be awarded 4 stars
Kul, inte lyssnat på eels sen i gymnasiet. Inte riktigt lika bra som jag minns det kanske.
Nothing special
Some cool stuff, not exactly my genre though
Pretty good, sounded a bit Charlie Kelly -ish in places. Enjoyed but wouldn't rush back
Pretty diverse album and there’s some classic 90s riffs in there.
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.
Lyrically just not my bag at all, loser coded
Mediocre, but cool to see a song used in shrek out in the wild
Fine.
One of those how did this end up on a major label curios of the mid 1990s...I guess he was a bigger deal in the UK?
I think this album thinks its cooler than I think it is... 2.5/5
Some good, some bad, and minus one star for making me look at the cover art for 45 mins
I know Novacane for the Soul. I remember hearing it played on the radio all the time when this album was released. There was something that kept me from buying this record and I couldn’t figure it out. I bought a lot back then. After listening today I realized that I’m glad I didn’t. The lyrics aren’t good. The music seems to be adding a bit of hip hop influence into some of the songs but it just didn’t work for me. There are other styles.
So, this is what the cool kids were listening to in 1996? I want chill them and I’m sure not now.
I know they’re supposed to be ironic, but some of these lyrics. Oof
The background music for every middle-of-the-road 90s teen drama. Songs for the angsty kids to rebel with when they're too scared of metal. The soundtrack of a teenager on a long distance bus, putting their hoodie up over their hair and wistfully looking out the window as they run away from home. Bland not-really rock that doesn't go anywhere as you keep listening and realise they only have one sound. Safe to say i didn't like it.
this is like if jughead jones moved to forks, wa, and did a bad acoustic nirvana impression
Probably would’ve liked more when I was younger. The Shrek soundtrack song still slaps
Mixed bag of mediocre to blah. Why is it on the list? Who knows. Album cover art is horrible.
Another one hit wonder?
Na ja. Mir zu düster.
I wanted to get excited and love this. Unfortunately, I fell right asleep instead. Monster one hit wonder. Exceedingly dull otherwise.
Probably won’t listen to that again
Fine I guess. Catchy, tastefully produced, some ok lyrics, some terrible. But the kind of daily album I wind up resenting cos there are plenty interesting new things out just this week I probably should have listened to instead.
2.8
Weinerlicher Emo Dreck
Trying way too hard. I remember the hype of this record and not getting it then either
real bummer vibe.
Rock. It was kinda cool hearing a song from Shrek, but kinda boring otherwise.
I really liked the Eels song that was in Shrek 2, but this earlier album is just fine.
I think it's both trying too hard and a bit lazy at the same time. Didn't click for me.
Knowing nothing about Eels, this sounded similar to a lot of things I do like, but do it better. Lyrics were sometimes laughably trying to be sad and haunting
I definitely had this CD when I was young in the ‘90s, and even then I remember being underwhelmed. Is this the book people trying to be cool by including a relatively forgotten “cool” song? Because don’t let’s act like the whole album is anything special outside of the big single.
2 out of 5. The sad guy indie rock doesn't do it for me.
Wasn't a fan of this 30 years ago and nothing has changed
What makes this essential? Clearly not the lyrics. The singing isn't that great, music doesn't stand out.
Dark lyrics over interesting music
This felt like it was trying so desperately to be off-centre and quirky, but in actuality it was all just mildly boring and non-committal. Unremarkable slacker-ish indie disguised under a veil of meaningless sound effects.
Proto quirk chungus ahh music shrek 2
shrek moment
manchild indeed. this is giving losercore (derogatory); i feel like there's some potential sonically, i enjoyed the weird spoken word bit in track 2. self-pitying pick-me boy malarkey is not done here in a way that works for me, spoils the vibes of something otherwise tolerable. self-loathing i will indulge but self-pity? higher bar. fav: mental
I mean it’s ok.
Nothing special
..
With the exception of some brief moments, this album is ass. Almost in one star territory
Fine 90s indie/alt rock sound pulling with an artier and poppier approach, with fairly eclectic songs that are well crafted and fairly rich. The singer can be both sincere and use that dry-delivered irony that became some common in later indie rock. Overall Unmemorable, but fine I guess. Definitely not a neccary listen prior to perishing
Hadn’t really taken the time to fully listen to this record, but after a proper listen I felt like a joint and bourbon. the record swings between cracked humor, self-loathing & tenderness. Shoutout to Susan. 2.5/5 (I know you can’t do that but that’s my rating)
Competent enough 90s "slacker"/alt. rock, but even some of the tracks that should grab me just make me wish I was listening to better bands. Susan's House in particular just makes me want to turn the record off and go listen to Soul Coughing instead.
Not my style and a little dark for me.
Not bad, but nothing remarkable.
did not know anything from this except the funny shrek 2 song going in. having listened to it, it’s still the only one I remember :/ not actively bad but sooooo forgettable I almost wish it was. what a waste of 40 minutes. also holy shit that has to be bottom 5 album covers of all time who the fuck drew that
Eels is primarily one guy (Mark Oliver Everett) from Los Angeles, who formerly went by simply E. The album is alternative rock and includes a couple of minor singles. The music is forgettable, the sound quality is good. Overall 2.5 stars.
Couple of okay songs but bland overall
Knew a few of these songs, not a bad one but I don't think I'd come back to the album!
Horrible portada y horrible primera lyric del album... life is hard and so am i????? Creo que este album tenia potencial para ser mejor porque a veces las bases de las canciones se ponen raras en el buen sentido pero las letras son disturbing y overall no es disfrutable 3/10
i was delighted from the first song cause it's such a 90's time capsule, but by song two i realized this music doesn't activate a single neuron in my brain. My Beloved Monster was in shrek thats pretty cool
Rating this album is hard, and so am I. Falls under "funny music" so tough start there already, though not too bad. Kept me interested even if it was a little weird and I hate the album cover 4.5/10
Okish
I hear lots of genremates as influence like Cake, Pearl jam, and even some Melvins. Occasional lower tempo sections that sound like Dave Matthews or Dispatch. But, I wasn't moved by the end product. A good album for exercise but not so important to the ears. Nor the eyes, what up with that albo cover?
4/14 Meh
I've always found it hard to get into Eels, and no I don't mean the strange and almost mythical swimming creature. But like the animal, I think this should go to Bermuda Triangle, but perhaps never come back. "Novocaine For The Soul" doesn't save it I'm afraid.
It's like if Nirvana did the KMart music...
Those first three songs lie about what the rest of the album is going to be.
I thought I was going to enjoy this more based on the first song but it kinda fell apart the longer it went on. Almost gave it a bonus star for being better than the shitty British 90’s bands we’ve been forced to listen to on this endless quest to reinforce that personal music taste is far more meaningful than any type of list of “best albums”
Lame, boring. Walkie talkie to God lyric hahaha
Beautiful Freaks 1. this song pretty popular. i don’t like it though. it’s too emo and i don’t like how he talks about being hard. 2. i don’t like this. i don’t like the rhythm and i don’t like the freaky stories. i hate the going over to susan’s house. tbh it is interesting though but i still don’t like it 3. did not care for it 4. a bit strange but not bad 5. I LOVE RHOS SONG ITS SO GOOD 6. meh 7. meh 8. love it reminded me of creep by radio head 9. okay but i don’t like the lyrics only the way they’re sung 10. bleh 11. creepy but i liked it 12. eh
Not something I would listen to on the daily. Could be good background music while reading though.
I feel like I'm trying to concentrate on this album but keep drifting away. Also the cover is kinda terrifying.
I had a lot of hope for this after the first few songs but after a while it so blended into a boring, crap mess
Nice clean sound and the band know how to knock out a melody or hook but it lacks the emotion and depth I like from rock. Similar to the Cardigans in that way.
Previously unknown. Sounds sometimes like Beck, sometimes like Wilco, but not quite as interesting as either.
meh. angsty. airy.
quite boring, prefer eels the animal
Save:0
Shrek music caught me off guard. And sadly I really only like that one.
I'm on a bit of a downer today and this was not what I needed to listen to. I knew some of it from the first time round, however listening to it again it's pretty depressing stuff.
#870. Dull and repetitive. Definitely not something I'd class as worthy of a second listen. 2/5: meh
Distinct cover, distinct sound, just not for me
I remember in college I told someone my favorite band was Ween. So they told me if I love Ween, I would love Eels. Got the album and was extremely disappointed. That person was an idiot. Listening to the album for the first time in nearly 3 decades… I don’t hate it as much, but I am not sure why this is on this list. I would put the Mollusk up against this any day.
Hadde det ikke vært greiest for alle hvis han bæsjet seg ferdig før han begynte å synge? Det høres så rart ut når han trøkker og spiller inn vokal samtidig.
392/1089 - Awful voice and rudimentary instrumentals one level above most country music on this list.
Pretty generic alt rock
If it weren’t for that shrek song it would be a 1
Don't really feel too much like listening to this again, tired of this indie shit. Still feeling generous enough to give it 2 stars, cause it could always be much worse. Ok, on the 2nd listen it's not bad, def at least 2.5 on RYM, still not sure about 3 though.
A real disappointing downer of an album. This one could really pack a punch but it feels like it’s holding back.
Music to do heroine to
Listened Before? No Pros: Classic 90s grunge, some good moments, didn't totally hate listening to it Cons: Truly fugly album art, "life is hard and so am I", just overall not my favorite, got boring in parts Songs Added to Playlist: None lol
Mid
I feel like I'm a pretty big Shrek fan, that first movie was on heavy rotation, it formed childhood nostalgia. It was a surprise to me when I found out one of these songs was in the montage skit. I'd already heard this project twice and it had never rung a bell. The point is that for me to not immediately remember this, it must have been real fucking bland. No disrespect to Mr. E, there is technical talent on here, but the project feels like it's meant for wholesome background music because that's likely what the production team wanted. 2.2/5
Depri-Rock. Ok zu hören, aber nichts was mich dazu bringt, es nochmal zu hören. 2-3/5
Meh
some good stuff but repetitive as hell
Vraiment très mid. J'haïs le drum. 2.49 étoiles
😐
Listened Before? N This seems like one of those "love it or hate it" albums. The music itself is decent, but the weird art on the cover and strange themes throughout just kind of didn't do it for me. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Novocaine For The Soul
I don’t like this at all. It’s like Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, and Tom Waits, but without any of the parts I like.
Nice alt-rock, calm vocals and distorted instrumentals.
Novacaine for the ears. Well put together, but not a whole lot to retain. Certainly not as good as some of their later work.
Pretty mediocre. Nothing on here that many other groups from the mid-90's weren't also doing.
edgy and boring
no
Eh, it was ok. I liked some of the songs, the rest was kind of dull. Very angsty.
This is kinda lame. Extremely boring parts and then mediocre pop in others.
Very angsty and a few good songs
Slow, sad, a little boring. Rags to rags is the best song.
This was a band that I didn’t catch back in the late 90s. Their first song Novacaine for the soul sounded really good. Really captured that 90s cake type of sound.
I did not enjoy this album at all. I found it a bit boring, tbh. I did finish it, but it definitely faded into the background the longer it went on
I remember the release. It was a strange album. Lots of falsetto
Would be better if his voice wasn’t annoying
Ok'ish
It made no impression whatsoever.
34/1001 First listen. Wish the rest of the album sounded as good as the first song. 3 plays and can’t think of anything else to add. Meh. 4/10
It's pleasant enough but not very interesting. And again, I question whether it's "important" or "influential".
Boring 90s music.
This album has zero dynamics. I suppose it has an audience somewhere, just not here.
where's the freak?????
I expected at least a little freaky…. Neither good enough nor off-putting enough for me to care
A rather weird but very listenable album. Nothing stood out particularly, but as a whole it was ok. Now here we have the difficulty of listening to several albums back to back, because if I were to have heard just this and nothing else might be tempted to give it a 3, but it just isn't as good as the 3's I have previously awarded. It's a solid 2.8 to 2.9, but if I were to give it a 3 I would be doing a disservice to all the 3s I have given before. So 2 it is.
some good songs and some that were mostly talking over the guitar. I don't really get the appeal since it feels like I have head these kinds of songs many times before, but better.
There was a week in 1996 when my radio alarm woke me each morning at half past six with Susan’s House. It was the single of the week on Chris Evans’s Radio 1 breakfast show, and it was testament either to the wave begun by Novocaine for the Soul or to the strange cultural power Evans then wielded that the single reached number seven in the charts - the highest UK placing of Eels’ career. I would have sworn that Mr E’s Beautiful Blues went higher, but no. Susan’s House it was: a very mid-90s nightmare of Pasadena that could almost have been Andersonstown too - except there were no doughnut shops in Andersonstown then. It’s the unsettling precursor to the follow-up album Electro-Shock Blues, which I’m fairly sure was in the ‘two-for-one’ bin at HMV from release. Mr E’s Beautiful Blues so starkly borrows elements from the first two album titles that I’m surprised its parent record, Daisies of the Galaxy, isn’t the canonical choice - the true amalgam of Everett’s competing modes: gentle champion of the loser and loser himself. But no: Beautiful Freak remains the one we’re told to listen to, just as Susan’s House is the one that charted. Go figure. It suggests a novelty. I bought the album at the time and always found it hard to play through to the end. E’s sad-sack persona feels wearily mid-nineties - too articulate to be as directly affecting as Mark Linkous - yet his commitment to the bit, to sadness and vulnerability and the genuine tragedy of losing his mother and sister, makes it hard to doubt his sincerity. He means it, man. It may not be sophisticated, but it can be touching at times. And I’d be lying if I pretended I wasn’t once a sad sack myself. Sure, the quiet-loud dynamic of alternative rock is done better elsewhere - with actual dynamics! - but the fuzz bass on Not Ready Yet still pleases me. And Susan’s House still wakes me up at 6.30, though I no longer have a radio alarm. 2 This is fine. There are no great songs here but there is a musical identity. Well…maybe musical identity is a bit strong, it’s more of a gimmick. You get pretty, often nursery rhymeish melody supported by twee minimalism mainly in the form of cheap keyboard sounds or untreated guitar contrasting sharply with cynical and often darkly snide, quasi-confessional lyrics. Sometimes this dualism of sweet and sour is underlined musically as garage rock gestures sprout up like mischievous weeds. It’s an idea worth [checks the rest of Eels’ career] flogging to death and far beyond, apparently. 2/5
One hit, kinda ok 90s
I have known a few songs by Eels before this, including Novocaine For The Soul, so I was moderately looking forward to this album. However, overall it didn't do much for me. I guess I have been listening to the greatest hits. Of the new-to-me-songs on this, Susan's House was the best. I would love to give this more, but only two stars.
En lite udda fågel i den ameriksnska indiemyllan. Lägger sig nånstans mellan Pavement och dess gelikar och mer klassisk collegrock och dessutom en hel del Beck. Det har åldrats förvånandsvärt bra, inte så att det är skitbra men till skillnad från mycket annat som idag låter urkasst. Tycker ofta det är så att det som var lite avigt och udda då är det som överlever bäst till vår tid. Första halvan av skivan är bättre sen tappar den lite egenart, de låtar som har det där Beck-aktiga funkar bäst. Någorlunda sympatisk amerikansk indie, en stabil tvåa
Tidstypisk amerikansk indierock från slutet på 90-/ början på 00-talet. Varken mer eller mindre.
Låter så väldigt amerikanskt, nästan collegerock, fast inte så störigt grabbigt. Lite för mycket av skriva-på-näsan-texter. Inte dåligt, men heller inget som sticker ut i mängden.
Another introduction and I generally like the music. Here and then some really nice tunes but in total nothing special or remarkable on. 2,5
This kinda sucked for me. There were some interesting textures/instrumentation, but nearly every song was two chords repeated ad nauseam with very little in the way of melody or rhythmic variation. The vocal performances were pretty subpar, which really was the nail in the coffin - something more inspired could've helped with the monotony. There were a couple songs (Susan's House had its moments) that held my interest, but overall not my thing.
Tem seus momentos legais. QoA Adonis New.
not for me. mopey slow boring
Had a phase with this album in HS. Have since sputtered out on it.
This really doesn't do it for me, oooutside of a couple songs. It picks up towards the end, though not quite enough.
I have a lot of thoughts about this one. I wish it were better. I do not think the guy had a good voice at all, but it at least works for this specific album and what it’s trying to do I guess. His tone barely changed at all throughout (except on the song Mental, which was pretty good). It feels like being a teenager again and having your friend show you this album, promising that it’s soooo good, but then it’s just kinda okay and you have to hide the fact that you don’t super love it from them or else they’ll crash out. It’s just nothing I’d listen to normally despite me liking some parts of it. Also, dreamworks had a record label?? No wonder Eels got a song in Shrek. Is this just an industry plant album? It sorta failed at being relevant then. The only reason people care about Eels now seems to be Shrek and the 1001 albums list, which I am not really sure it should be on.
I'm not sure I got this album, you know? It's a lot of mid tempo malarkey. I mean I felt like on every song they tried to be a different band. Sometimes I felt like they were pretending to be Beck, Nirvana, Randy Newman, and sometimes everything at once. It's like they went to a producer who had a ton of stuff and they set a price to every instrument and gave each member $15 for the song. Or they went to a thrift store and bought a bunch of music stuff and tried to use it all on the album. I couldn't shake the feeling that these are the guys in college who took their art like really seriously, like too seriously for their level of skill, and the problem was you, not them. But even with this, they got a song on Shrek, so that's kinda cool. Honestly, listening to this album made me feel like I should start writing music again, maybe the bar in my head isn't as high and I thought. Surely if someone can connect with this, there's a market for everything. Every little thing. Truly, all of it. Just every thought and feeling. Any idea. No limits. No rules. Nobody cares. You reading this, let's make a song, you play a triangle and I'll talk into a mic kinda whiney, and it'll be in the next Shrek. We'll get into a fight over the royalties and split up. Then 10 years later we will get back together and try again, but we will be different people, and the crowds will be too. It won't be the same. But we will always have Shrek
I forgot about this album while I was listening to it.
Meh
Only good song was the one on Scream 2 soundtrack. Not bad but won't listen to this again.
Easy listening, one of the songs “Guest List” reminded me of an Owl City or some band of the 2000s. My guess is they inspired it.
A bit trite to me, might have been forgivable if the beats were good but they were mid too. Album art is horrifying.
According to Wikipedia, "Beautiful Freak is the first album using the full band name Eels, in an attempt to get the records in the same general location in the stores as frontman Mark Oliver Everett's previous works under the name "E"." Much like this idea, the album was presumably very clever in 1996 but has become little more than a curio by the 2020s.
Very 90s. Pop grunge. Feel like I have heard parts of it before, but maybe it's the feeling that none of it stood out. I think I enjoyed "Your Lucky Day In Hell". Album felt like a rom-com soundtrack. 2/5 But "That Look You Give That Guy" is 5/5, which I know I've heard before. Though it's from another album, it just played after this one finished.
Different alternative band. Some good songs.
The music is pretty solid and seems like the production even better, but just listening to the lyrics made me want to give myself a wedgie.
Oh joy, another indie rock guy with a strained voice and nothing interesting to say
meh whatever
Trite but musically interesting. 2.5
Can't say I loved it or hated it
different for the sake of being different. I didnt mind Rags to Rags. But overall it just seemed like they were trying too hard to be more than they are, if that makes sense. Also a song from Shrek is here if thats your bag. This whole album just has a depressing, rainy day in a satellite city feeling that you cant escape.
Pretentious as fuck. First song was enjoyable… didn’t really like any of the rest of it… even the Shrek song. All of it was super unsubtle and that just didn’t click with me. I bet James Gunn loves this album (no shade to James Gunn it’s just that these guys reminded me of Spacehog and even Old 97’s)
This album was fine. It does explore a few different styles. But it honestly did not stand out to me at all. Seems like a very generic album for the time period.
Pretty good not a huge fan
Terrible cover. Worse album.
'This paint-by-numbers life / Is fucking w/ my head.' Inventive and varied, yet frustratingly monotone, Beautiful Freak is neither beautiful enuf nor freaky enuf to sustain my interest. E's vocals, how do I put it, are white, I mean really, really white, and while the instrumentation is compelling at first, it becomes all too predictable as well. But by far the record's worst aspect is the failed juxtaposition of the cute and the tortured, manifest in the weak, try-hard lyrics vocalized by a crooner far too hoarse to belt. It's that whispering quality indie/alt singers reach for but seldom persuasively attain. I can't tell if Bruce Springsteen or Paul McCartney is E's preferred model, but I can tell you that he's a far cry from both. Not whiney: whitey.
Boring
Pretty boring
I like that song from the Shrek soundtrack?
I liked the Beautiful Monster song. It was in Shrek so it was nice to recognise it. Album was ok, not really my vibe.
📣
An album I've always meant to listen to over the years as Novocaine for the Soul is a decent song and now that I have, I doubt I'll listen to it again. It just faded into the background and got to the point where I forgot it was on :-/
It’s a fine Album, I liked a few songs, recognized the one from shrek. But the rest were kind of meh, didn’t regret listening. The vibe was alright, I’m between a 2 and a 3 for this
It sounded kind of bland and generic, similar to lots of other 90s alt rock bands, but worse than them.
Grungy and depressing. In Flower, the guy complains about people trying to bum him out. Well, he is bumming *me* out with his singing style. So monotone and laid back, you'd think he just didn't care about the vocals. It weighs the album down heavily.
point4.
Nothing bad to say but nothing really good to say either.
Kinda depressing. Kinda boring. meh. It's a 2.5 and that bad spoken word part in Susan's House is going to keep me from rounding up.
Couple of bangers, Novocaine is still great. But I do not want to go to Susan's house.
Fav: Rags To Rags Least Fav: Susan’s House Had no idea they worked on pretty much every Shrek film’s soundtrack
Groupe et album connu. Par connu je me souviens l'avoir emprunté à la médiathèque quand il est sorti, puis l'avoir rendu. Et rien du tout de l'écoute, pas désagréable à priori mais visiblement pas mémorable ... et je n'ai jamais tenté d'écouter les albums suivants. En écoutant de nouveau ce disque j'ai reconnu ... aucun des morceaux. Comme quoi il m'avait vraiment marqué à l'époque ! Bilan de cette nouvelle écoute : pas désagréable (+1), mais effectivement rien d'original ou de mémorable. =>2/5
Kinda boring, nothing special
Boy did they want to be Radiohead so so badly
On sait pas si le gars fait une crise d'adolescence ou une crise de la quarantaine. C'est pas mauvais dans son genre mais j'ai l'impression que c'est surtout parce que ça reprend tous les codes un peu emo de l'époque
Oubliable
Som en trubbig american pie-tribute
Completely whatever forgettable 90s music. Nothing memorable or standout at all, just in one ear and out the other
Шрек. Лучшая песня - My Beloved Monster.
Novocaine for the Soul Beautiful Freak
This guy sure is sad or something
Mostly unforgettable tracks. 90’s guitar riffs and some plinky plonky piano but it doesn’t do a whole lot for me. Kinda like a harsher, grungier Weezer. Fave tracks: Novocaine for the soul, my beloved monster
Boring af. It's getting a 2 because the arrangements are good and there have been some true 0's on this 1001 list that I had to give a 1 to. I wouldn't group this album with them.
2.5
Other than the first song, pretty forgettable. High 2, but a 2 because I'm not likely to listen again.
I remember when this album came out. My friend Scott Hale got it and we listened to it playing video games at his house and it sucked. They sound like a Flaming Lips cover band. Novocaine for the Soul was the hit and it's terrible. Susan's House is another dud. Tape recorded talking over the music is not creative, it's lazy. This is not what makes art. I'm tired and this album is not helping. This looks like a solid 1 so far. There has not been a decent song on this album yet. It's like Beck if he sucked. I hope they had to pay Giorgio Moroder royalties for Mental because they totally ripped off the bassline. Another song that could very easily be a Flaming Lips song, Spunky. This album is terrible. Your Luck Day in Hell is the best song on the album and it's not that good.
dude the cover... and the music is just a bit better than the cover, actually. 2.5/5
★★½
Sorry
I’ve tried numerous times to get into Eels’ music but it all sounds so forced to me. Like his voice sounds false, I don’t know how to explain this. I just think he tries to be smart and deep but it all ends being lukewarm
Kind of an offcut of 90s alt rock. Novocaine was a favorite when it was in the radio. I enjoyed the overall slacker feel of it, the sparse relaxed arrangements, the guitars' bright overdriven sound, and the high end slide/key parts, but it comes and goes without leaving much of an impression. Favorites: novocaine, guest list
This is nothing special
It’s good, but dated.
Novacaine For The Soul was a medium sizes hit in the 90s and after listening to this album I can see why they are a one hit wonder.
It was fine, I won't go out of my way to listen to it again
I was expecting Shrek bangers but this fell flat.
yeah, just not my thing. side note: pretty depressing
I don’t hate it but don’t love it. I faintly recognized the opening song. Interesting stuff.
I wanted to like this. I like the first track, I like Birds, but the whole album felt pretty contrived and hollow to me. Nothing hit after the first track
jaha että junamusiikiksi laitettiin tämä..luullan olla jotain taudetta tekevän. ollaan niin lauluntekijöitä olevinaan. tidellisuydessa aivam vitun sietämättömää lyriikkaa ja laulamista. instrumentaalit on osittain luunneltavaa. pianon pjojotuksesta plussapisteitä. toki amplifikaatio paskaefekti sillä nyt pakosti kuunnellaan niin tarkkaan niin kovasti.. annetaan nyt se kaksi mutta notaatio siitä että en koskaaan aikaisemmin elämässäni ole halunnut hirttää itseäni näin paljon että se antoi vähän niitä miinuspisteitä tällä kertaa. susan haus
Bland and boring. There is much better 90s alternative music than this.
Who? Depressing Alternative Rock.
2+ Stars (6/15)
liked songs: Rags to Rags, Mental It was fine? Not a big fan of the singer's voice. Not the most interesting songs for me either. 2.5
I prefer "Daisies of the Galaxy", what the fuck is this —
Es un indie medio pop tranquilon que la verdad no me dejo gran cosa pero esta bastante chill.
12/3/24. Pretty decent album, good production and some enjoyable songs. Thought it was a little inconsistent.
Mixed feelings.. zoals eigenlijk bij alles van Eels. Ik vind het vet dat je hem eigenlijk niet goed kan categoriseren, en dat je direct hoort aan een Eels-song dat het een Eels-song is. Maar die unieke en herkenbare sound zorgt er tegelijk voor dat elk nummer verpakt zit onder dezelfde lo-fi stemmetjes, belletjes en beats. Ik ben daardoor eigenlijk nooit ondersteboven geweest van een heel album van hem. Individuele nummers doen het wel aardig, maar consistentie is ver te zoeken. 6/10 Highlights: Novocaine For The Soul Not Ready Yet
2+
Honestly, just not my thing
Opens up pretty nicely, Novocaine For The Soul hits all the classic tropes for '90s alt-rock nostalgia. Really slides downhill after that though and proceeds to just be really boring.
When I saw the album cover I feared I was in for a rough ride... and I was. Basically an album equivalent of Alice in the Wonderland, in a bad way. Feverish and dissonant, not at all to my liking. The singers voice also reminds me quite a lot of Elliott Smith, which I am not overly fond of. The only ray of light is 'My Beloved Monster', which I think I recognize from being in the Shrek movie. This recovers it from a dead 1 star to a weak 2 for me.
Like a lot of The melodies, but I'ddescribe most of the tracks as boring. I also don't like the vocals at all. Mostly just forgettable email alternative to me.
Different but fairly juvenile. Like Catcher in the Rye, what I would have fallen in love with if younger is just irritating.
Mostly boring. Didn't care for the vocals much at all. I've heard mich worse. I guess it's a 2.
Totally forgettable for me.
The album art kind of creeps me out
Olipa hidas levy, siitä en pitänyt. Tunnelmasta kyllä. Ei liian grunge, mutta atmosfääri on sitä. Tylsä kokonaisuus kuitenkin ja vähän masentava.
Too weird
not particularly inticing, okay.
Sounds like Ben Folds.
Though one can find some enjoyable tunes on the record, I would argue that better albums were released and/or recorded in this period. Not worth more than second listen, I m giving this 2 stars
Just blah 90s sound
Sounds like melancholic, emo-grunge. Not my type
2 stars
It wasn’t bad and it wasn’t great. It was fine.
Has not aged well. Nobody has to hear this before they die.
It was....alright I suppose.
#im14andthisisdeep
“Beautiful Freak” is the debut studio album by Eels, an 90s indie-sounding alternative rock group. This album is pretty mild. Interestingly, this is the second album produced by Dreamwork records.
Ok but not wild about it.
This album wasn't for me. It'd be fine as background music because it's not bad or anything, but I find nothing about it interesting, thought-provoking, or emotionally stimulating. A pure analogy for “meh.”
strange
I'm freaked Meh
I remember listening to this album a few weeks after it came out. My friend Thomas Lutzeier lent it to me. I remember liking it more than I'd imagined I would based on the singles I'd heard. Alas, I no longer like it more than I thought I would. It's ok.
A mediocre alternative rock album that felt like it was just trying to be different. Also the worst album cover I've ever seen
This seems like something I’d normally enjoy. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood, but really not a huge fan of this 4/10
Not listened yet
I recognized the first track, and I kind of liked the second. This was a mellow and somewhat different listen, but after the first two nothing else stood out to me.
Meh.
Took me a few attempts to get my way thru. Fairly approachable but a bit underwhelming. Some of the 90s era rock came off as dated
"My Beloved Monster" is a classic, but I thought the rest of the album was just OK.