Long-time fans of Mr E, the ever-so-slightly sinister leader of the Eels, will be delighted to hear that marriage has not done much for their hero's state of well-being. While the beard, woolly hat and serial killer fixation all seem to have been discarded for now, his new album is as dark, miserable and downright morbid as ever. Of course, it's also quite wonderful - mainly because this deeply eccentric character manages to lace his doom-laden compositions with a deliciously subversive sense of humour. Shootenanny! (the title is a reference to America's gun culture) is an outsider's dream, with songs written from the perspective of everyone from the crazed stalker to the teenager who just can't leave his room. And while E's backing band are adequate rather than exceptional, it hardly matters when you have a lyricist as good as this. Prospective buyers might like to know that President Bush is reputed to hate the Eels with a passion. Whether this influences your decision is, of course, entirely up to you.
