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Mojo

Lean and timeless sounding, it's also as truthful as Everett's sobering autobiography, Things The Grandchildren Should Know. [Jun 2009, p.104]

The Guardian

The garage rock is fun, but the mesmeric admissions of loneliness and failings make this one to return to.

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Uncut

It’s E’s lyrics that are the true, bitter joy of this record, sacrificing nothing of their wit in pursuit of heartbreaking, heartbroken directness.

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All Music Guide

This is a beautifully crafted, stripped-down recording, showcasing once more that E uses searing honesty and a canny sense of pop, rock, blues, and everything else to chronicle his own strange path through life and its labyrinth.

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Dot Music

What truly counts here is persona and with E casting himself as dog in heat, eager to reach a scratch that he just can't itch, the end result is yet another facet to a continually engaging and truly unique artist.

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No Ripcord

The theme is relatable, and relevant because it encompasses more than that one side of desire we all expect to hear about. This exploration and focus is what held together Eels’ 1998 masterwork, "Electro-Shock Blues." It does the same here.

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Prefix Magazine

Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire is another record that hones and refines what it means to be Eels. Mark Oliver Everett continues his daring and heart-baring, and we continue to be the better for it.

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Under The Radar

This record is still pure E--invigorating in its obsession, desperation, vulnerability, and brilliance. [Summer 2009, p.65]

The New York Times

The sound is deliberately barren. The guitars never quite fill the space, and the drumming (credited to Knuckles) often has the mechanized indifference of drum-machine tracks.

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Delusions of Adequacy

Each track contains elements that sound similar in combinations of tone, texture and melody from previous records, so this album is not necessarily a knockout. However, the band’s artistic hybrid is delivered with a fervent honesty and steeped in an emotional intensity that may make it sound a lot like other Eels material.

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Drowned In Sound

This emotional rollercoaster of an album has a few cleverly disguised cliches similar to 'emotional rollercoaster' embedded in the music and lyrics.

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Boston Globe

It's hard not to wish that there were more remnants of his earlier studio-nerd genius; there's the twist-beat and buzz-bass of 'Lilac Breeze' and the plod of 'Tremendous Dynamite,' but there's no build to them.

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PopMatters

The album somewhat loses its steam halfway through, only because the flow starts to feel too predictable.

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Rolling Stone

Everett's songwriting hasn't always kept pace with his musical and literary ambitions. But these tales of frustrated desire are vividly sketched, with the Eels delivering muddy roadhouse rockers.

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New Musical Express (NME)

There’s nothing on Hombre Lobo (Spanish for werewolf) that couldn’t be constructed by breaking down the DNA of the previous six Eels albums and repiling the strands up in some melodically fresh but warmly recognisable way.

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Spin

The gentler E distances himself from his lycanthropic alter ego, searching for Ms. Right backed by a familiar arsenal of winsome melodies and elegant string arrangements.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Hombre works best when it fully embraces its titular beast: 'Fresh Blood' finds excitement in a brooding groove, and rattles when Everett literally howls. Unfortunately, those are exceptions: The rest of the album just isn’t cohesive enough to entice much repeated listening.

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cokemachineglow

There’s something oddly sweet about how completely out of step Eels are with trends and genres, something nourishing about how secluded their music has become. Shame, then, that it must necessarily also be so exclusive.

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Los Angeles Times

Hombre Lobo is much more effective when Everett keeps things one-dimensional, as in 'Tremendous Dynamite,' a deliciously fuzzy blues-punk rave-up in which he describes being "on the prowl for a restless night," and 'Beginner's Luck,' a jubilant ode to the boundlessness of new love.

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Pitchfork

It would be too easy to dog Hombre Lobo as a case where going back to the well leads to diminishing returns, but the problem is just that Hombre Lobo is too easy.

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Slant Magazine

Though doubtful it was crafted for such a purpose, Eels's latest is simply not much beyond a forgettable earful for a lazy Sunday listen.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 16 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Davis W. gave it a7:
A bit of a disappointment, but a strong and solid record nonetheless. E is still the man.

Daniel G gave it a5:
This album sounds like a mainstream pot-boiler compared to his previous releases. It's all not bad, but there is only one song that was memorable for me (the look you give that guy). It reminds me of Souljacker in that it has too much levity (Souljacker had a few better songs though). Perhaps, E has exorcised all of his demons now and can only make light, fluffy, empty songs. I'm disappointed. Great CD case, though!

Ryan H gave it an8:
I really do like this album, and it did take me two times to listen to it though to think that. I do not think that it is the best CD put out by E, but it is not his worst either. I would say it is better than Shootenany! but that is about it. It is nice to have some songs by the eels that are not so complex and are more fun to listen to while driving down the street on nice day. While this CD does slow down at times too much with songs like the longing it is a pretty solid cd though and though.

Nick S gave it a10:
The first great album of 2009. Heartacheingly beautiful ballads and garage rock songs about desire.

Brandon S gave it a9:
Another great cd by this great band. I love when E gets all creepy in particular.

Doyal T gave it an8:
This is for all of you that do not listen to the newest, hot radio releases. If you think, feel and have not purchased any Lady Gaga: You should check it out.

guy e gave it a5:
A mediocre effort from one of my favourite cigar puffing beards. there's no fresh direction, simple melodies, fewer than usual powerful hooks. the best tracks, for the first time in eels history, sound like they could have been on earlier eels albums. and its short. i think being an author and tv star may have been distractions.

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Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs Of Desire

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