Indie pop outfit Eels have released their first new single in two years, “Baby Let’s Make It Real.” Their last release was their 2018 album The Deconstruction. Eels announced the song on Instagram, advertising it as a distraction from hard times. “How ‘bout a new song to get your mind off your troubles for 3 minutes and 55 seconds? Play it again if you want to double that time.”

The band is centered around singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, aka “E,” and has been releasing music since 1996’s Beautiful Freak. Twelve studio albums later their music has transitioned between rock and folk focuses several times, plus touches of trip hop. The Deconstruction was on the folk side, but more of an ambient pop style than usual. 

“Baby Let’s Make It Real” shows a return to their rock sound. After the piano intro teases a calmer song, the drums kick in and it sets up a middle ground between chill and rockin’. The chorus takes the energy up a notch to something easily singable, “Baby you’re a full meal/The way you make me feel/It’s kind of a big deal/Baby, let’s make it real.”

E’s distinct gravelly vocals & the piano and drums aren’t its only features, there’s also some electric guitar fills and light horns at one point. It’s hard to tell whether the horns are live or electronic but they add a bit of a chamber pop element, which is another genre Eels have recorded often. A press release indicates that the song was recorded in Eels’ local Los Feliz, California recording studio.

Eels haven’t announced either a new album or a tour, but E said in another Instagram post two weeks ago “I miss waking up in a new city each day.” Eels were on tour for much of 2019 and 2018 in both America and Europe.