We aren’t going to bore you with a long, drawn-out chunk of this review dedicated to the fact that the covid pandemic – and its effects on our society – have lasted too long. Instead, I’m going to put it like this: Extreme Witchcraft, the 14th album by Mark Oliver Everett’s long-running outfit Eels, isn’t his first quarantine album, but his second.
2020’s gentle Earth to Dora was itself a reaction to the fact that the pandemic had clipped the wings of Everett – or, as he prefers, simply E – one designed to give solace to his fans during that downtime. By the time E returns to the road and the stage, who knows how many albums he’ll have to promote? Will he be able to manage a hat trick?
The pandemic has lasted long enough, though, that life has begun to return to normal for Eels, and while Dora was produced entirely by E himself, Extreme Witchcraft reunites the band with PJ Harvey and Sparklehorse (not to mention Eels’ own Souljacker) producer John Parish, and with it, Eels return to their more rock-oriented sound.
This alone is a breath of fresh air for Eels fans who prefer the group at their most comparatively energetic – which has long been one of the most beloved shades of Eels – and who will easily sink into the grungier shades of Extreme Witchcraft, which help elevate songs like “The Magic” (among the best songs here) and “Better Living Through Desperation,” which are each packed with some pretty hefty firepower.
The most engaging of the bunch is also the most compelling: “What It Isn’t” oscillates between softly-delivered verses and jagged choruses. “If it is what it is, then I’ve got to say,” he coos as he trails off – just in time for the chorus to suckerpunch you in the jaw: “Then make it what it isn’t/ Shut up!” he howls over the track’s dramatic guitars.