Electro-Shock Blues

E had a difficult time in his personal life at this point. His sister had committed suicide just before Beautiful Freak was released, and his mother was diagnosed with cancer. These events inspired him to write Electro-Shock Blues, released in 1998. The lyrics deal with subjects like suicide, death, and cancer. Despite the fact that it is a very dark album, and not nearly as big a commercial success as its predecessor, Electro-Shock Blues is still many fans' favourite. Contributions to the album were made by Jon Brion, Dust Brother Michael Simpson, and T-Bone Burnett. "Last Stop: This Town" was a minor success as a single; the second single "Cancer for the Cure" was used on the soundtrack for the film American Beauty. Still a three-piece band on stage, Tommy Walter was replaced by Adam Siegel, formerly of Suicidal Tendencies. A large part of the American leg of the tour was cancelled after the death of E's mother. They returned to Europe later in the year, to open for Pulp. After the tour Adam left the band to focus on his own project, My Head.

Electro-Shock Blues is the second album by the band Eels, released in 1998. It is a very dark record (its main themes are death, suicide and cancer, coming shortly after E's mother's death from cancer and his sister's suicide), but there are also some optimistic tracks, "P.S. You Rock My World" being an excellent example.