On EELS, Being Dead Stack Up Sharp Zig-Zags and Even Sharper Hooks

You’d be forgiven if you believed Being Dead was bound to rein in their chaotic energy on their sophomore album, EELS. This is a band, after all, that burst onto the scene last year with a debut record—When Horses Would Run—that bounced around like lottery ping-pong balls, careening from surf-rock to indie-pop to psych-folk to bubblegum-punk with all the energy of a 11-year-old boy totally zonked on Pixy Stix. It was also one of the best debuts of 2023, earning positive reviews and establishing Being Dead as rockers on the rise. So with more people paying attention, more pressure to deliver the goods and a level-up producer, John Congleton, in the booth, LP #2 would surely smooth out some of the band’s rougher edges, right?

Not so much. In fact, the wriggly, restless EELS is evidence that, at least at this point in their existence, Being Dead are resistant to being smoothed. Formed years ago in Austin, Texas by best pals Juli Keller and Cody Dosier, the duo has long made playful irreverence a centerpiece of its aesthetic, making up far-fetched origin stories for the band and, for this album, taking on the pen names Falcon Bitch and Shmoofy, respectively.

There’s a fine line between irreverent and flippant, of course, and Being Dead skillfully walks that line on EELS, a 16-track collection of sharp zig-zags and even sharper hooks. Opening track “Godzilla Rises,” for example, has it all: electric guitar chug, male and female voices, unexpected rhythmic shifts, irresistible melodies and a sense of resonance that feels like you’re practically in a bathtub with the band. In just under three minutes, Being Dead evoke immersive pop heroes like Neutral Milk Hotel, Animal Collective, That Dog. and the Beach Boys—a touchstone not only for the band’s surf-y foundations, but also their variegated vocal harmonies.

Actually, the first third of EELS is a bit of a curveball in its straightforwardness, with one off-kilter pop-rock jam after another: “Blanket of My Bone” sounds like a raucous riot grrrl anthem and a spectral Cindy Lee song woven together. “Problems” reimagines the Velvet Underground as kaleidoscopic hippie music. The punky “Firefighters” juxtaposes Falcon Bitch and Shmoofy’s searing harmonies with some of the best fuzz-guitar tone you’ll hear this year. And “Van Goes” fits call-and-response yelps and a motorik beat into an anti-work tune about feeling fed up with modern life under the weight of capitalism: “Life’s a process but it can happen to you, too,” Falcon Bitch sings. “If you let ‘em get the best of you.”

Later on EELS, though, you can almost hear Being Dead itching to shed their skin and try on some new looks. Along the way, they conjure up a couple clouds of shimmering dream-pop (“Gazing at Footwear,” “I Was A Tunnel”), leaven prickly post-punk with echoes of the Beatles (“Big Bovine”), downshift into a candlelit folk ballad (“Dragons II”), engage in some spirited egg-punk evangelism (“Ballerina”) and disfigure a wonderfully simple jangle-pop song (“Rock n’ Roll Hurts”) with what sounds like a dental drill and literal fits of laughter.

To be certain, the word “disfigure” carries a negative connotation. But here, it’s meant as a compliment—a toast, if you will, to one of Being Dead’s best qualities: They belong to a long lineage of subversive pop-rock wizards who are not only capable of writing great songs, but also willing to then keep pushing those songs into interesting, unexpected places. On EELS, they remain delightfully, defiantly unpredictable.

Ben Salmon is a committed night owl with an undying devotion to discovering new music. He lives in Oregon, where he hosts a killer radio show and obsesses about Kentucky basketball from afar. Follow him on your social media platform of choice at @bcsalmon.