Artist

EELS

American rock band

Los Feliz, United States • Formed 1995

EELS is a music group from Los Feliz, United States, active since 1995. Their discography on Gatefold includes 24 records.

Start your shelf →Open in app

Albums tracked

240

In collections

1995

Since

Biography

Eels (often typeset as eels or EELS) is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991 by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Oliver Everett, known by the stage name E. Band members have changed over the years, both in the studio and on stage, making Everett the only official member for most of the band's work. Eels' music is often filled with themes of family, death, and unrequited love. Since 1996, Eels has released fourteen studio albums, seven of which charted in the Billboard 200.

The Arc of EELS

The pivots — what forced EELS to reinvent.

The DreamWorks Shiny Freak Era
After the solo failures of 'A Man Called E,' Everett pivoted to a group dynamic with Tommy Walter and Butch to hide his singer-songwriter DNA behind a wall of 90s dust-loop production. This era peaked with 'Novocaine for the Soul,' where Jon Brion’s chamber-pop influence met the grit of a thrift-store sampler. It was the only time EELS felt like they belonged on MTV, even if the lyrics were too dark for the beach. You hear it in the weird juxtaposition of glockenspiels and distorted vocals that defined the mid-90s alternative boom.
The John Parish Grit
By 2001, the whimsical hip-hop beats were trashed in favor of the 'Souljacker' sessions, driven by PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish and his jagged guitar work. E grew a massive beard, stopped caring about melody for a second, and leaned into a dirty, distorted blues-rock sound that felt like it was recorded in a desert shack. This wasn't the sad guy in his bedroom anymore; it was a man making a noise record to drown out the silence. The Chet joined during this pivot, marking the start of the longest-running partnership in the band’s rotating door lineup.
The Concept Trilogy and Beyond
Starting with 'Hombre Lobo' in 2009, E committed to a rapid-fire release schedule of three albums in a year and a half, each exploring a different psychic state from desire to divorce. He moved away from the sprawling, cinematic orchestrations of 'Blinking Lights' and toward a tighter, more functional studio sound. These records feel more like journals than grand statements, often recorded quickly with his touring band to capture a specific, lived-in fatigue. It’s the sound of a veteran worker punch-clocking his way through the heavy shit because he doesn’t know what else to do.

Influences

The Beatles — E covered 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Help!' live, but the real receipt is the Mellotron-heavy production on 'Daisies of the Galaxy.' You hear the ghost of McCartney’s 'Ram' in the way he stacks toy pianos and kitchen-sink percussion. He’s a melody obsessive disguised as a grouch.
Randy Newman — Everett has cited Newman as his favorite songwriter and eventually got him to play on 'Last Stop: This Town.' The DNA is in the cynical, third-person character sketches and the use of orchestral arrangements to mask devastating lyrics. It’s the 'Sail Away' school of songwriting where the narrator is rarely the hero.
Tom Waits — The shift toward junk-shop percussion and distorted megaphones on 'Souljacker' is a direct nod to the 'Bone Machine' era. Both guys treat the recording studio like a scrapyard where the ugliest sound is usually the right one. It's about finding the beauty in a broken circuit board.
Neil Young — Everett’s 'Blinking Lights' is his version of a sprawling Young epic, and he’s frequently covered 'Cinnamon Girl' and 'After the Gold Rush.' You hear it in the fragile, high-register vocals and the refusal to fix a 'bad' take if it feels honest. Both of them would rather be ragged than fake.
Prince — Despite the indie-rock label, E is a Minneapolis-obsessed multi-instrumentalist who often records entire tracks alone in his basement studio. He’s a noted superfan who wrote about Prince in his autobiography, 'Things the Grandchildren Should Know.' The influence shows up in the tight, programmed funk of the 'Shootenanny!' b-sides.