Years ago, a friend lent me the CD single of Eels' 'Susan's House', from their 1996 debut Beautiful Freak. While I was suitably charmed by 'Susan's House', my 15 year-old, Sylvia Plath-saturated brain was mesmerised by the b-side, 'Manchester Girl', a stark, melancholy treat.

Unfortunately, the CD was not mine, and my taped copy has long since bitten the dust, so you can imagine my delight when I discovered Manchester Girl featured on their recent alternative best of, Useless Trinkets: B-Sides, Rarities and Unreleased.

Released earlier this year, alongside a more conventional best of, Meet the Eels, Useless Trinkets is an extensive collection of all those treasures lost when Napster stopped letting you download rarities and your friends demanded their singles back!

'Manchester Girl' is a wonderful example of what Eels do best; poignant, dark tracks that tug on the heartstrings and make you sit up and listen. This is one for fans of Electroshock Blues' highlight 'Climbing to the Moon' and Daisies of the Galaxy's, 'It's a Motherfucker'.

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