Souljacker

Disc 1
1	Dog Faced Boy 3:18
2	That's Not Really Funny 3:19
3	Fresh Feeling 3:37
4	Woman Driving, Man Sleeping 3:30
5	Souljacker, Pt. I 3:15
6	Friendly Ghost 3:22
7	Teenage Witch 4:44
8	Bus Stop Boxer 3:45
9	Jungle Telegraph 3:40
10	World of S#! T 3:30
11	Souljacker, Pt. II 1:58
12	What Is the Note? 2:27
Disc 2
1	I Write the B-Sides Bonus Track 3:56
2	[Hidden Track] 4:25
3	Jehovah's Witness Bonus Track 3:39
4	Rotten World Blues Bonus Track 2:44

Barnes & Noble

From the appealing modern rock of Beautiful Freak (with the hit "Novocaine for the Soul") to the unsettling bittersweet melodies of Electro-Shock Blues and the loopy bounce of Daisies of the Galaxy, the man called E and his Eels co-conspirators have thrown curve balls with each new release. Souljacker is no exception: It rocks, it rolls, and then it rocks some more. "Dog Faced Boy" jump-starts the album with a dark, rumbling guitar line and E's voice rasping, "You little punks think you own this town." It's a challenge to all comers: The Eels are back and they're bad. Given the band's occasional penchant for cute quirkiness, it's a surprise that this rock move is totally convincing. But with help from UK producer John Parish (who's worked with PJ Harvey), E takes rock 'n' roll traditions and turns them inside out and upside down. The Bo Diddley beat that anchors "Jungle Telegraph" gets interrupted by a crazy horn break, and the song's typically oddball first line is "Mama had an epidural/ Hoping I would be a girl." "Souljacker Part 1" begins with "Twenty-two miles of hard road" like some old blues boogie but ramps up into bracing rock 'n' roll. While the rockers dominate, Souljacker still makes time for acoustic ballads ("Woman Driving, Man Sleeping"), impossibly catchy trip-hop ("Fresh Feeling"), and E's patented beat-driven singsong melodies ("Friendly Ghost"). Once again, Eels take a surprising left turn without traveling in circles. Steve Klinge

All Music Guide

As with the band's previous albums, Souljacker bristles with pop euphoria and cracking production, and proves Eels' frontman, E, to be a superb songwriter, but just like those previous albums, Souljacker ultimately falls a bit flat over the course of its extended running time. Album opener "Dog Faced Boy" exemplifies the weaker half of the album's 12 tracks. Though it's a decent punk glam take on T-Rex dynamics, it doesn't exactly beg for repeat listens like the album's better half. "That's Not Really Funny," "Woman Driving, Man Sleeping," "Fresh Feeling," "Friendly Ghost," and "What Is This Note?" are as strong as any songs in the band's back catalog. On these songs, lush strings, found sounds, children's toys, spy themes, surf music, elaborate piano segments, and fuzzy harmonicas mingle in the band's trademark, innovative way. Easily besting almost anything in Beck's quirky bag of songs, these songs display the charm, polish, and sincerity of E's original vision. Sadly, there's too much skronking punk-pop noise in the remaining songs that serves to drag the album down. This limited-edition release adds a bonus disc of four songs, one of them superb, two of them downright horrible, and one of them a useless remix. Only "I Write the B-Sides" warrants seeking out the limited edition. Its opening lines show E at his most poignant and wise, as he sings "I write the B-sides that make a small portion of the world cry/I like the seaside and singing songs that make you not want to die." Punchy, exuberant, and smart, the song would have made perfect sense on Souljacker in place of the somewhat mindless filler that permeates its cracks. Souljacker is certainly a welcome addition to any fans Eels collection, but due to its weaker batch of tracks, it's hard to recommend it to newcomers. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide

Rolling Stone

1/2 "The Eels have pulled out all the stops on Souljacker." Mark Kemp