A double album, BLAOR has been several years in the making, a period during which Eels leader Mark Oliver Everett has been to hell and back, having witnessing the suicide of his sister and then almost immediately following that tragedy the death of his mother from a terminal illness, events which found their way on this album's predecessor, 1998's Electro Shock Blues. Some years down the line one could still be forgiven for expecting a bleak record, but BLAOR is anything but. There are joyously upbeat songs such as the optimistic and sax-infused Hey Man (Now You're Really Living) and the surf-operatic wail of Old Shit/New Shit, while elsewhere one can find reflective offerings, such as Railroad Man, which charts the sad and poignant decline of the American rail industry.

Ever the purveyor of outstandingly intelligent as well as listenable contemporary music, with BLAOR Everett has produced a very, very good record, one that commends his humanity as well as his creative spirit. The album also features some old Eels friends, such as Tom Waits and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, and Lovin' Spoonful frontman John Sebastian.