Description

ElectroShock Blues was written largely in response to frontman Mark Oliver Everett039s more commonly known as E sister039s suicide and his mother039s terminal lung cancer. The title refers to the electroconvulsive therapy received by Elizabeth Everett when she was institutionalized. Many of the songs deal with their decline, his response to loss and coming to terms with suddenly becoming the only living member of his family his father having died of a heart attack in 1982 Everett, then 19 years old, was the first to discover his body.Though much of the album is, on its surface, bleak, its underlying message is that of coping with some of life039s most difficult occurrences. The record begins with 34Elizabeth on the Bathroom Floor34, a sparse piece composed of one of his deceased sister039s final diary entries. Later, the album039s emotional climax is reached in two tracks 34Climbing to the Moon34, which draws upon E039s experiences visiting his sister at a mental health facility shortly before her death and 34Dead of Winter34, a song about his mother039s painful radiation treatment and slow succumbing. The album039s last song, entitled 34P.S. You Rock My World34, is a hopeful bookend to 34Elizabeth34, containing subtly humorous lyrics that describe, among other things, an elderly woman at a gas station honking her car at E, incorrectly assuming he is the attendant, and E039s decision that 34maybe it039s time to live34. Eels CD is available for home delivery from Vinyl Records London, only £7.99