Eagle Seagull: Shot Through the Heartland

Using words as weapons comes naturally to Eli Mardock, who mans the quill—as well as piano and guitar—in anthemic Nebraska sextet Eagle Seagull. “In high school, I wasn’t super cool,” he says. “So I was really into debate. I actually went to the national debate tournament!”

Although Mardock favors the timeworn subjects of love, sex and the painful memories that can follow them, his cavalier approach results in fresh and funny songs that combine a well-orchestrated kitchen-sink aesthetic with the jubilant moroseness of the past generation of Smiths—both the Morrissey-led band and The Cure’s gloomy Robert.

“I think when most people listen to songs, they don’t listen to the lyrics at all,” Mardock says. “It’s just about the music or the beat. Lyrics, to me, are really important.” And he’s written some stone-cold stunners. Here are a few shining examples of Mardock’s undebatable, not-quite-sentimental sentiments:

“When your makeup runs down your cheek / It looks so hot, that’s the color of love to me / I want your tears / I want your heart as a souvenir … it’s so sexy.” — From the twisted, Jarvis Cocker-channeling come-on “It’s So Sexy,” off 2005’s Eagle*Seagull.

“I conspired against you all / I picked you up just to see you fall / I smiled at your pain / I’m cold in the heart, I’m cold in the brain.” — From “I Don’t Know if People Have Hated Me, But I Have Hated People,” off the 2008 EP I Hate EP’s.

“We don’t talk about love / We don’t talk about sex / We don’t talk about dreams ... we don’t talk about anything at all!” — From “I’m Sorry, But I’m Beginning to Hate Your Face,” a bruising kiss-off from the band’s forthcoming sophomore album, The Year of the How-To Book.