Eels - Extreme Witchcraft (See My Engine Gleam) (2LP) - 45RPM Transparent Yellow Vinyl

Extreme Witchcraft lands like a reminder that Eels can still snarl when they want to. Released January 28, 2022 on E Works and PIAS, it reunites Mark Oliver Everett with producer and multi-instrumentalist John Parish, their first full-album collaboration since Souljacker back in 2001. Parish’s resume with PJ Harvey needs no introduction, and you can hear that same gritty tact here, the way guitars burr and drums sit dry in the room. It’s a welcome pivot after the tender glow of Earth to Dora, one that brings back the scruffy charm fans cling to when they talk about why this band still matters, decades after Beautiful Freak.

The singles told the story upfront. Good Night on Earth strides in on a fuzz-stomp and a shrug, E’s voice weathered and unbothered, like a late-night pep talk with a busted amp for company. The Magic is tighter, a little nastier, its riff shooting sparks while E deadpans through the chaos. Both songs work because they feel lived in. The arrangements are lean, no fat, just the kind of garage rock clatter that Parish excels at capturing without sanding off the personality. If you’ve missed the Souljacker bite, this scratches that itch without pretending it’s still 2001.

E has always balanced bruised humor with small flashes of grace, and that mix is intact. A softer cut like Strawberries & Popcorn offers the breather your ears crave, a sweet-n-salty lull to offset the grit. Then the record slides back into those scorched tones that make the choruses pop. You get that sense of a simple setup, but the details are smart. Guitars double in the margins, little keyboard smears peek out, the bass often walks rather than thuds. E keeps the lyrics conversational, tossing off lines that read like notebook scrawl, yet they stick. He’s still writing about survival in small, useful terms, the kind you can carry around for a while.

What helps the album click is how Parish frames E’s voice. The mix pushes the vocal just high enough to feel close, not so high that the band loses heat. A lot of modern rock is too polished to leave a mark. This one feels tactile. The snare has a papery snap. Guitars spit. The room air hums. That’s gold on Extreme Witchcraft vinyl in particular, where the low mids glue those sounds together. If you collect Eels albums on vinyl, this sits next to Souljacker and Wonderful, Glorious as the ones you pull when you want the needles to get a little dirty.

Reception matched the vibe. Early reviews from places like The Guardian and Pitchfork clocked the Parish reunion and called out the renewed grit, noting how the record leans into energy rather than studio gloss. It isn’t a “back to basics” stunt, more a reminder that E writes sharp songs that can live loud. That matters after a long run where he explored orchestral colors and softer tones. The shift here feels earned, not nostalgic. You can imagine these songs rattling a small club, which is really the test.

Longtime fans will hear echoes of past eras, but the album avoids recycling. The sequencing keeps you moving, toggling between bruisers and breathers, and there’s a late-album steadiness that rewards a full front-to-back listen. E keeps the running time trim, a choice that suits the material. No indulgent detours, just a good band, good mics, and a producer who knows where to put everything.

If you’re crate-digging and spot Extreme Witchcraft vinyl, grab it. The packaging keeps the no-nonsense feel, and the sound fits the room even at modest volume. For anyone looking to buy Eels records online, this is an easy recommendation, the kind of record that reminds you why rock still works when it’s played by people who mean it. It also slots neatly into a broader shelf of Eels vinyl, a run that tells a long, strange, human story from Beautiful Freak through Earth to Dora and on to this tough, catchy set.

And if you’re in a Melbourne record store or browsing vinyl records Australia late at night, put this in the stack. The guitars crackle, the choruses stick, and E sounds like he’s having fun again. That’s the spell here, really. No tricks, just songs. Extreme Witchcraft does the rest.