EELS

Their inventive spirit and unconventional approach carve out unusual paths that, once traveled, become a delight to revisit.

With Congleton at the helm, the track sequencing and production are near perfect. For an album brimming with ideas, EELS only contains one minor misstep, which is a matter of taste. For all its simplicity, the tongue-in-cheek send-up of “Rock n’ Roll Hurts”, could have been a sincere offering but devolves into giggles (yes, we get the over-the-top sentiment). “Goodnight” is the opposite, an album-ender that challenges a traditional lullaby but remains heartfelt.

EELS is relentless, hooky, and thematically looser than the band’s full-length debut, 2023’s When Horses Would Run, which reveled in the mythos of the American West. This is music of fine details and huge sentiments.

The collection is inventive yet grounded and unpretentious, a genuinely modern interpretation on the tenets of punk that still carry weight.

Messy, expansive, full of contradictions, sharp turns, and a joie de vivre that wants to experience and express everything at once. They are also endlessly inventive and engaging, their effortless melding of styles held together by glorious harmony and complete assurance.