I'm not going to deny that I've been very curious what the first Eels album after my book came out would sound like. Not that I think that my biography would in any way influence E's work -- I was simply wondering how the book would influence how I approach his new stuff.
Hearing "Peach Blossom," the first single from Wonderful, Glorious, I dug it but wasn't wowed by it. I feared the worst: Perhaps after spending a year working on that book (and listening to Eels rather obsessively during that time), maybe I couldn't properly appreciate anything new he put out.
Well, I'm happy to say that after listening to the full album, I'm duly impressed. It keeps growing on me, in fact. I hope it does the same for you.
