“Life is hard, and so am I.” With these words, Mark “E” Everett instantly thrust into Eels’ musically surreal, lyrically blunt universe, offering us “Novocaine for the Soul” with a calming concoction of slack-rap beats and otherworldly orchestration. Even at this early career stage, Everett had already mastered the art of handling heavy subjects with a light touch: “Susan’s House” sets gritty scenes of homeless women and crack-dealing teens atop shuffling grooves and soft-rock piano; “Flower” is a folk-hop woe-is-me lament leavened by churchly harmonies.