Eels have always sounded moody, there is an underlying melancholy that at times borders on menace. But "Chief Eel" Mark Everett is a first rate tunesmith--and a go-for-the-throat lyricist. If you tossed the brains of Beck, Roger Waters and Randy Newman into the mind-meld machine, you'd be left with the Everett. Eels previous release Electro-Shock Blues revolved around Everett's reaction to the death of his Mother and Daisies of the Galaxy contains a heartbreaking finale to that cycle of songs, called "Selective Memory."

But this new one is far from being a dreary somber affair. Despite Eels inherent sweet sadness, it's not particularly depressing and there's enough quirky, upbeat stuff to keep it balanced, above water and moving ahead. Daisies of the Galaxy is masterfully understated, and is filled with many instruments that probably needed a good dusting before recording. Moogs, Melotrons and Casios color these hauntingly touching songs, along with some inventive brass clips and brass band arrangements straight out of Randy Newman's book.

The highlight is Everett's aching vocals and amazing word play, "Wake up the dying, don't wake up the dead/ Change what you're saying, don't change what you said." Certainly not an album I'd recommend to anyone who just picked up the new N'SYNC, but if you like say, Ben Folds Five or Wilco, or a more obscure band like Sparklehorse, by all means pick it up. It's a marvelous piece of work by someone who's obviously trying to work his way through a tough personal loss. He's picked himself up from the couch, dusted himself off, and is limping his way back into life.