I've had the two new Bright Eyes CDs - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn - for about two weeks now and I'm starting to get a handle on them.
I can say, first and foremost, that they're both incredible albums. Conor Oberst is one hell of a musician and it's kind of ridiculous that he has managed to release two albums simulataneously that are of such high quality.
This guy can sing and write, period. The lyrics are amazing on both albums, though they really shine on I'm Wide Awake ... . The album has a bit of a country/folk feel to it, stripped down and simple. The focus is very much on Conor's voice, the lyrics and a guitar. Emmylou Harris also shows up on a couple of the tricks to great effect. Her voice blends with Conor's in a wonderful way, lending a warmth and depth to the songs. It's a nice contrast to Conor's voice, as well, which is raw and emotional, often times splitting under the weight of his own lyrics, the song, the emotion. It's tremulous at times, not quite hesitant but always seeming on the verge of being overwhelmed. You sense that he feels every song that every track resonates with an almost unbearable weight.
"Lua," off of I'm Wide Awake ..., is soft and acoustic, nothing more than Conor and a guitar. The lyrics are haunting, painting the picture of a night of drugs and misery in the context of a troubled relationship:
I know you have a heavy heart. I can feel it when we kiss. So many men stronger than me have thrown their backs out trying to lift it. But me I'm not a gamble you can count on me to split. The love I sell you in the evening by the morning won't exist.
You're looking skinny like a model with your eyes all painted black. You just keep going to the bathroom always say you'll be right back. Well, it takes one to know one, kid, I think you got it bad. But what is so easy in the evening by the morning's such a drag.
I got a flask inside my pocket we can share it on the train. And if you promise to stay conscious I will try and do the same. Well we might die from medication but we sure killed all the pain. But what was normal in the evening by the morning seems insane.
A free mp3 of the full song can be downloaded at the Saddle Creek Web site, along with three other tracks - two from each CD - as well as some other tracks off older albums (including the wonderful "Lover I Don't Have To Love" from the album Lifted). I highly recommend you head over there and pick them up now, for they're very much worth it and t should give you a better idea of Bright Eyes' sound.
Article comments
1 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
thanks for the link to the saddle creek site, Joel. It's fantastic. Great reviews, too. There's a track from Digital Urn on this week's MP3 digest at my site - www.mondoirlando.com/mp3_digest.html
I really like his Fevers And Mirrors as well. He's a talented shit, for sure.
2 - Joel Caris
Yeah, he's definitely impressive. I thought Fevers and Mirrors was excellent, as well, and I really liked Lifted.
Hit the Switch is a great song. And I agree that the scattered bad reviews for Digital Ash are strange. Yeah, I have a bit of a preference for I'm Wide Awake, but Digital Ash is also an amazing album.
The singles hitting #1 and #2 was insane. I just checked the latest album chart and it looks like the new albums debuted at #10 and #15, which is just nuts for an indie album. I wonder how many stores it even was at. I'd be surprised if WalMart was carrying it, for instance, and it's damn hard to come into the charts that high without being available at WalMart (incredibly sad as that is.)
I know we don't carry it where I work and we actually have a really good music selection for a general retailer. But we don't have anything from Saddle Creek.
Regular music stores must be loving these albums.
3 - Joel Caris
Oh, I should also mention this Amazon page. It has four Bright Eyes mp3s for free, two from each new album. Unlike the mp3s at the Saddle Creek site, these are 128k bit rate. The Saddle Creek ones are low quality mp3s.
Also, Aaron, do you ever have any trouble offering mp3s on your site? I've been considering doing that occasionally on my blog, but I don't, you know, want to get sued. Are you pretty safe if you just offer to take down tracks if the label has any problem with it and it's offered for a limited time?
4 - Temple Stark
Got the changes made at Advance.net Joel - where, as you know, I posted this.
Thanks again for letting me know and letting me correct the link error.
5 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
joel, i was advised to put the disclaimer thingy on there, and so far there's been no trouble. i've put an mp3 alongside an album review (good morning west gordon, by one star hotel) which is permanent, but i got permission from them. I've got my email address all over the page, and amazon(co.uk) links to buy everything, provided it's available. I ain't had trouble yet, and some record types have contacted me through the site, and never mentioned it.
you mention lifted, which is one of my most-listened-to records at the minute. (lifted and 69 love songs by the magnetic fields, since you were asking) Bright Eyes in general, in fact, has been blaring constantly for much of the last month. I ain't too proud to say i never heard a lick till all the fuss about these two records, and before they were released i went out and picked up the mini-album, Every Day And Every Night. Was sufficiently impressed to go buy every damn thing i could get (which became increasingly difficult as HMV etc began to realise the distributors were talking shit, and these records that "wouldn't do very well" sold the fuck out every time they came in.). I was expecting something in the vein of Ryan Adams, on account of the reviews etc, but i think the similarities are few and far between, even on I'm Wide Awake... I happen to adore Ryan Adams, incidentally.
6 - Cameron Fisher
Connor is amazing. I went to a live show recently in Atlanta. Lets just say he was very, very annebriated. His songs touch the heart of the struggles this generation faces. One of my favorite pieces is "Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh." I love to just sit and smoke while listening to his music. He is one of the most amazing song writers ive ever seen. Most of the scales and progressions he uses have very strong folk roots. Yet, the way his songs just come together enamours me. He is a very influental leader in this "emotional" movement i find myself a part of. I mean i dont cry, wear black, and bitch about my how "shitty" my life is. Fuck off "emo" kids. I do however consider myself quite an accomplished musician. I play guitar and sing originals in coffee shops and other places. I play drums in my band vittorio (http://www.vittorio-rock.com). And my favorite instrument is the piano. I love to just sit and write. Music never seems to lead to boredom. Personally, I love Connors stuff. I have no desire to copy him, but his music drives me to make beautiful music of my own. I really enjoy jazz chords. Jazz mixed with very strong emotional lyrics. I dont cry, but I am very in touch with my heart and am not afraid to express it. I believe in love. I need it. I am a romanticist.
7 - Alyx
i thnk that Conor Oberst is a true inspiration. Depressed, yes. But he is honestly the best kid i have ever come across.