Wonderful, Glorious

Wonderful, Glorious
A black-and-white photograph of a bomber plane on an orange background with the words "WONDERFUL, / GLORIOUS" and "EELS" written across the top and bottom in white
Studio album by Eels
Released February 4, 2013 (2013-02-04)
Recorded 2012
Studio The Compound, Silver Lake, Los Angeles and No-Hitsville U.S.A., Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre Indie rock
Length 49:41
Label E Works/Vagrant
Producer E
Eels chronology
Tomorrow Morning
(2010)		 Wonderful, Glorious
(2013)		 The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett
(2014)
Singles from Wonderful, Glorious
  1. "Peach Blossom"
    Released: November 6, 2012 (promo)
  2. "New Alphabet"/"I'm Your Brave Little Soldier"
    Released: February 28, 2013

Wonderful, Glorious is the tenth studio album by American indie pop band Eels, released in 2013 by record labels Vagrant and E Works. The album was produced by band leader Mark Oliver Everett. A worldwide tour accompanied the album release.[1]

Recording

The songs were recorded in band leader Mark Oliver Everett's home studio in Los Feliz, Los Angeles,[2] which was built for this album, after his previous home studio became too cramped for effectively recording.[3] In an unusual choice for an Eels album, Everett decided to work on the songs by jamming with fellow Eels members[4] and composing at home, only drawing upon sparse lyrics from his notebooks.[2] He got the idea of collaborating with these musicians in particular after his last two tours and three albums featured a relatively stable line-up to the Eels musical collective.[5]

Release

Wonderful, Glorious was released on February 4, 2013 by record labels Vagrant and E Works.[6]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76 (26 reviews)[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
A.V. ClubB+[8]
American Songwriter[9]
BBC MusicFavorable[10]
Consequence of Sound[11]
Drowned in Sound6/10[12]
The Guardian[13]
NME8/10[14]
The Observer[15]
Paste6/10[16]
The Skinny[17]

The Skinny's Stu Lewis gave the album four out of five stars praising the harder rock sound of the album calling it "work few contemporary indie rock bands could better"[17] and Eric Magnuson's review in American Songwriter writes that the lyrics are demanding "like [Everett] has a knife to your throat, creating a wonderful paradox".[9] Jude Clarke of BBC Music summarizes her review by saying the album "continues the band's long-running, idiosyncratic and distinctively creative career path."[10] Maddy Costa of The Guardian also praised the album's hard rock sound, noting that the lyrics are "delivered in a growl so jittery and aggressive that gentleness is obliterated."[13] About.com's review by Tim Grierson emphasizes the diversity in songwriting, stating that Wonderful, Glorious "offer[s] variations on familiar styles and delivering a few delightful curve balls in the process."[18]

Several reviewers have noted the positive and uplifting themes of the lyrics, such as The Observer's Phil Mongredien[15] and Jon Clark of Drowned in Sound whose review stated that "the negativity often present in Eels records is less noticeable here; in fact the record contains many optimistic, if particularly frank and defiant, testimonials."[12] Michael Gallucci of The A.V. Club writes that the lyrics express E's relief after Eels' concept album trilogy.[8] Writing for NME, Kevin E. G. Perry contrasts the optimism of the lyrics with E's personal tragedies, concluding that "part of the triumph of this record is just how upbeat he sounds while talking about everything from love and loss to mortality itself."[14] Paste's Ryan Reed considers the positivity "awkwardly forced" leading to an album of "lifeless non-revelations married to engrossing tunes".[16]

Track listing

All songs written by E, except where noted

  1. "Bombs Away" (E, Koool G Murder, and The Chet) – 5:23
  2. "Kinda Fuzzy" (E, Koool G Murder, The Chet, and P-Boo) – 3:38
  3. "Accident Prone" (E and P-Boo) – 2:48
  4. "Peach Blossom" (E, Koool G Murder, and The Chet) – 4:05
  5. "On the Ropes" (E, Koool G Murder, and The Chet) – 3:10
  6. "The Turnaround" (E, Koool G Murder, and The Chet) – 4:49
  7. "New Alphabet" (E, Koool G Murder, and The Chet) – 4:08
  8. "Stick Together" (E, Koool G Murder, The Chet, P-Boo, and Knuckles) – 3:42
  9. "True Original" – 3:48
  10. "Open My Present" (E and P-Boo) – 3:09
  11. "You're My Friend" (E and Kool G Murder) – 3:47
  12. "I Am Building a Shrine" (E and P-Boo) – 3:35
  13. "Wonderful, Glorious" (E, Knuckles, Koool G Murder, and The Chet) – 3:43
Bonus tracks on Deluxe Edition
  1. "Hold On to Your Hat" – 0:46
  2. "Your Mama Warned You" (E and P-Boo) – 3:09
  3. "I'm Your Brave Little Soldier" – 2:51
  4. "There's Something Strange" (E, The Chet, and Koool G Murder) – 3:13
  5. "Happy Hour (We're Gonna Rock)" (E, John Parish, and Koool G Murder) – 3:50
  6. "That's Not Really Funny" (Live 2011) (E and John Parish) – 4:55
  7. "In My Dreams" (Live 2010) (E and Koool G Murder) – 3:07
  8. "Prizefighter" (Live 2010) (E and Koool G Murder) – 3:01
  9. "Looking Up" (Live 2011) – 5:06
  10. "What I Have to Offer" (Live at KEXP) – 2:56
  11. "I Like the Way This Is Going" (Live at KEXP) – 2:13
  12. "Spectacular Girl" (Live at KEXP) – 3:32
  13. "Summer in the City" (Live at KEXP) (John Sebastian, Mark Sebastian, and Steve Boone) – 2:12

Personnel

Eels

References

  1. ↑ Roffman, Michael (November 27, 2010). "Eels announce 2013 tour dates". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Fusilli, Jim (February 4, 2013). "Eels Swim in a New Direction with Wonderful, Glorious". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  3. ↑ Lake, Dave (February 6, 2013). "Tell Me About That Album: Wonderful, Glorious". Seattle Weekly. Voice Media Group. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  4. ↑ Eisen, Benjy (February 6, 2013). "Eels' Wonderful Glorious New Makeover". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow Publishers Company, LP. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  5. ↑ Dionne, Zach (February 12, 2013). "Eels Talk Full Band Approach on New LP Wonderful, Glorious". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ McCormick, Luke (May 20, 2010). "New Eels Album Out in August". Spin. Buzzmedia. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Wonderful, Glorious Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. February 1, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Gallucci, Michael (February 4, 2013). "Eels: Wonderful, Glorious". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Magnuson, Eric (February 6, 2013). "Eels: Wonderful, Glorious". American Songwriter. American Songwriter, LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  10. 1 2 Clarke, Jude (January 25, 2013). "Eels Wonderful, Glorious Review". BBC. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  11. ↑ Bray, Ryan (February 7, 2013). "Album Review: Eels – Wonderful, Glorious". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Clark, Jon (February 4, 2013). "Eels – Wonderful, Glorious". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Costa, Maddy (January 31, 2013). "Eels: Wonderful, Glorious (Vagrant)". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  14. 1 2 Perry, Kevin E. G. (January 31, 2013). "Eels – Wonderful, Glorious". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  15. 1 2 Mongredien, Phil (February 2, 2013). "Eels: Wonderful, Glorious (E Works/Vagrant)". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  16. 1 2 Reed, Ryan (February 5, 2013). "Eels: Wonderful, Glorious". Paste. Wolfgang's Vault. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  17. 1 2 Lewis, Stu (January 23, 2013). "Eels – Wonderful, Glorious". The Skinny. Radge Media. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  18. ↑ Grierson, Tim (February 2, 2013). "Eels  – Wonderful, Glorious Review". About.com. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
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