Mr. E has just given us another track off the Eels’ upcoming album ‘Wonderful, Glorious’ to listen to: After ‘Peach Blossom’, it’s ‘New Alphabet’, a bluesy song starting with a ferocious badass guitar and Mark Oliver Everett’s nasal-semi-ironic vocals, then developing a tender string-piano moment in the middle, giving us a sparkling tender interlude before the explosive reprise,… the whole thing makes the song even more interesting.
Now what does bluesy means? The Black Keys are bluesy, the Stones are bluesy, Eric Clapton is bluesy, but this tune sounds nothing like that, no, this one is more film-noir with an intriguing atmosphere, more Tom Waits’ kind-of-blues. The song even gets uncivilized, shaggy, angry, it does a little fuck-you-all dance, but reveals a soft heart in the middle, just like its composer?
Everett explained to Spinner the meaning of the line, ‘When the world stops making sense/I make a new alphabet’:
‘All any of us can do when our lives aren't working out is look at our own role in what's not working. You can't do anything about any of the other parties involved. But you can do something to change yourself in the name of getting to a better life. That's what this song is about. If it's not working out, make a new world by making yourself better. In my case, I needed to rock while I did this …'
And it's rocking for sure, so listen to it below and pick up ‘Wonderful, Glorious’ on February 5th via Vagrant Records.