Don't You Know, It's The End of His World3 Out Of 5 Stars
Mark Oliver Everett is a man who writes through his pain. Be it the early Eels' masterpiece "Electro-Shock Blues" or this "End Times," he delivers agonizing self-reflections like few others. "End Times" is his divorce album; a bleak and relentless lo-fi downer that fits in seamlessly with Beck's "Sea Change."
Carried mainly by Everett's plaintive raspy tenor, "End Times" is often Dylan-esque where the words are less than transparent but the emotions are naked as ever. The rockabilly that propels "Gone Man" and the darkest humor of "Paradise Blues" give the album moments of levity, but for the most part, he's hiding in his basement (literally) and pouring it out into his microphone and four-track. Several of the songs are little more than Everett plunking a piano or strumming a guitar while reciting his melodic break-up poetry. Sometimes it works (the title song, "I Need a Mohrt"), and sometimes it sounds like the song you just listened to.
Which is what ultimately holds the album back. "End Times" deals in pure, undiluted sadness that Everett ties to the miserable state of the world in general, without much hope. Eels albums usually offered some kind of uplifting spirit to offset Everett's generally dour worldview. You won't get that on "End Times," although it's interesting to note that, within a year, The Eels would deliver the sunnier "Tomorrow Morning."
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