Eels With Strings: Live at Town Hall

Mark Oliver Everett pens some of most beautifully bittersweet ballads in existence

Maybe not exactly a household name, but Eels are a band, curiously hip in some circles for 10+ years; in that time they've released an engagingly unpredictable series of songs that were always somehow even less predictable than experiencing one of their ever-changing live shows, where presentation often meant reinvention. You never know what you'll get when you attend an Eels concert. One year it's vocoders and synthesizers, the next it's gritty garage rock. Like Beck getting his Tom Waits on, Mark Oliver Everett – the E in Eels – pens some of the bleakest, most beautifully bittersweet ballads in existence. On his first concert recording With Strings: Live At Town Hall from last year's U.S. tour, he's joined by a seven-piece band, including pump organ, lap steel, guitar, upright bass, mandolin, melodica and celeste backed by a string quartet – though a singing saw and suitcase-and-trashcan drumkit keep things from sounding too genteel. Naturally, about half the tracks come from his last disc Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, but Everett digs up enough back-catalog fare like Novocaine for the Soul to keep the oldtimers happy, along with a few covers like Dylan's Girl From the North Country, Johnny Rivers' Poor Side of Town and Left Banke's Pretty Ballerina.

Pop parodies are interlaced with emotionally raw numbers

Conjuring a vibe at once sinister, stirring and vulnerable, the ever-troubled E delivers a heart-aching 22-song set on With Strings: Live At Town Hall. Pop parodies like I Like Birds and Hey Man (Now You're Really Living) are interlaced with emotionally raw numbers like If You See Natalie (which laments the suicide of his sister) and Bus Stop Boxer. Thanks to the stellar backup band, E's husky voice and sad stories become all the more desperately lovely. A standout version of I'm Going to Stop Pretending that I Didn't Break Your Heart balances musical saw and lonely electric guitar. Railroad Man continues to assert itself as one of E's best songs, and Novocaine for the Soul gets a little noisy and avante garde, but blends its familiar sway with the sensation of a fever dream. Flyswatter undergoes the most radical reinterpretation, keeping its chiming melody, but quickly descending into an insectoid buzz of strings that breaks down even further into complete cacaphony – kind of like someone shook up the box of bees that makes up Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebees. The final cut here is also the final track from Blinking, Things the Grandchildren Should Know, and with the lap steel whining in the background and the strings shimmering around his voice, E lays out an acceptance of his life such as it is.

With Strings: Live At Town Hall completely draws you in

With Strings: Live At Town Hall is the first properly released Eels live album (two earlier limited edition live CDs were released through the Eels website and are now sought-after collectors items). Combining whimsy and harsh reality in equal measure, Mark Everett and his band have been connecting with and engaging audiences all over the world with their stunning live show, and this is captured perfectly on this album. In its best moments, With Strings: Live At Town Hall completely draws you in, and when it's not reaching those lofty heights, it's still a solid record. Enjoy 22 songs from all phases of the Eels' ten-year career, along with great songs by other artists as interpreted by Eels. The charm and nuance in these songs make for an essential document for Eels fans, and provide an inaccurate but utterly engaging portrait of E's songs in front of an audience. With Strings: Live At Town Hall has power and subtlety as well as pomp. E has already begun work on a new batch of tunes, but it could be several years before they're heard.