Bright Eyes Albums (7)
What The Critics Say
Call him pretentious, call him sensitive, call him what you will, but there's no denying the fact that Conor Oberst is a talented and intelligent songwriter. Actually, it's probably more correct to say that Bright Eyes are a group of talented and intelligent songwriters, because it's the pedal steel, the clamorous percussion, the orchestral arrangements, the thick background vocals that add to the songs in Cassadaga -- the band's fullest and most developed record to date -- almost as much as the lead singer's own wobbly voice and sharp lyrics. Because the album is, like all of Bright Eyes' albums, very much about the words. Besides the usual swatch of Middle America character sketches and the occasional political allusions, Oberst writes dialogue that travels throughout the record, questioning religion and truth and love and purpose the entire time. He knows he has to go somewhere, and he's hoping that if he just keeps moving, where exactly that is will make itself clear. "Cassadaga might be just a premonition of a place you're going to visit," a psychic says to him in the opener, "Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)," which acts an introduction to both the album's musical (slightly spacy, organic acoustic melodies) and lyrical (direction, control) themes. Oberst sees himself in a place where "everything must belong somewhere" and "death may come invisible," a place where mystics and clairvoyants can tell us as much about our own selves as we can, a place where destiny exists, a place where God is both an omnipotent "Brakeman" and a myth construed in books. Perhaps because of this, Oberst appears more unsure than he ever has. But also because of this, this lack of control, it's not an insecurity about himself that he feels, but rather a kind of shadowy acceptance of the uncertainty of life. "The 'I don't know,' the 'maybe so'/Is the only real reply," which he sings on the stormy Western dirge "Middleman," his voice accepting and empty at the same time, is the most truthful assurance he can offer. Because, despite the gravity of the ideas presented on Cassadaga, it's not a depressing or even overly serious album. Rather, it's finding what you can, be it a geographic location or a mind state, when and how you can, amid the incomprehensible world around you; it's Americana, full of folky acoustic guitars and dobro and dissent and yet, still, a kind of hopeful optimism that can't hide itself completely under the strings, clarinets, and cynical irony; it's a mature interpretation of life, not just whining complaints. "I'm leaving this place but there's nothing I'm planning to take/Just you," Oberst confesses on "No One Would Riot for Less." Where he's going -- Manhattan, California, the Hague, New England, or even Cassadaga itself -- he doesn't know, but he's going to keep looking until he finds it, and he's got his guitar, his simple chords, his verses and choruses, to help him (and perhaps us) along. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
'I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'
Release Date 1/24/2005
Tracks 10
Label Saddle Creek
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What The Critics Say
Last time around, Conor Oberst -- who for all intents and purposes, is Bright Eyes -- shoved all of his interests into one long, overstuffed epic, but with the simultaneously I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, he separates the country-rock on the former and the messy modernistic indie rock on the latter, as if to counter the criticisms that he can't focus. I'm Wide Awake is designed as a nakedly honest singer/songwriter album, somewhat inspired by the classics of the genre in the '70s -- he even recruits Emmylou Harris for some harmonies, hoping that some of the Gram Parsons' magic will rub off. Stripped of the careening, dramatic, arrangements of Lifted, Oberst's music seems simpler, and while his voice -- a quavering bleat that's halfway between Feargal Sharkey and the Dead Milkmen's Rodney Anonymous -- is an acquired taste; fans will find this to be his most direct album yet. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Digital Ash in a Digital Urn'
Release Date 1/24/2005
Tracks 12
Label Saddle Creek
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What The Critics Say
Digital Ash in a Digital Urn is designed to be the musical polar opposite to the simultaneously-released I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, to be the ambitious, modernistic electronic record that stands in contrast to the sepia-toned, classicist acoustic LP. The production and arrangements may have changed, but Conor Oberst's preference to lyrics over music remains the same. Nevertheless, there is more variety and dynamicism on Digital Ash, which makes it a more interesting listen than its companion, even if it's hard not to escape the feeling that the album is Bright Eyes' take on the Postal Service's Give Up. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Motion Sickness: Live Recordings'
Release Date 1/1/2005
Tracks 15
Label Ada UK
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What The Critics Say
Although it may be difficult to document the path of Bright Eyes in 15 songs, Motion Sickness, which is culled from the winter 2005 tour following the release of I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (which also coincided with the release of Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, ignored here), does a good job of not only capturing the band's sound, but also of the place of Conor Oberst in the modern musical landscape; he is the 21st century's Bob Dylan, its troubadourian hero. If he is aware of this (and he certainly must be), he doesn't let on too much, focusing on his words and performance instead of his status and his image. By this point in his career, Oberst's voice has lost some of the extreme quaver that marked his reflective, descriptive lyrics with both a fragility and an arrogance not usually seen outside of precocious, sheltered teenagers. He sounds surer of himself, with a confidence that comes not from reading overly glowing critical reviews but from experience, both in art and life. And the band here, for the most part, is tight and in control, comfortable with the repertoire and the easy country-rock feel that the songs take. It's a good set, running through much of I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning but also touching upon Lifted (including a great rendition of "Method Acting"), Fevers and Mirrors (the pedal-steeled "Scale," aka "A Scale, a Mirror and Those Indifferent Clocks"), as well as a couple of B-sides ("True Blue" and the now famed "When the President Talks to God") and covers (Elliott Smith's "The Biggest Lie" and Feist's "Mushaboom," which, as the liner notes by touring drummer Jason Boesel reveal, was learned quickly on the tour, and honestly, sounds it, Oberst singing in an uncomfortable key and in uncomfortable tones, unrehearsed and a little off), not a greatest-hits collection but a strong selection of mature, intelligent songs, completely representative of what Bright Eyes has become. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
'Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground'
Release Date 1/1/2002
Tracks 13
Label Saddle Creek
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What The Critics Say
When Bright Eyes brainchild Conor Oberst issued Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground in August 2002, he was 22 years old. Critics were already calling him the "indie Bob Dylan," but the new millennium had seen a lot of those introverted, intelligent types (Ryan Adams, Beck). Bright Eyes, though, delivered a solid, intricately produced album without the majors' monotony. Immediately, one can sense Oberst's literate approach. His vocal curdle is abrasive yet warm. It's similar to the cooing of Robert Smith, but lush in heartache like Paul Westerberg, leaving the storybook of Lifted or The Story to earn massive praise. "Waste of Paint" is rough-cut with edgy acoustics, while "From a Balance Beam" glows with pop-like optimism. Chimes and simple drumming keep the story of personal insecurity and the fear of the unknown coming alive in a dreamy sort of way. Even when he's aching his way through the pop rumble of "Method Acting," Bright Eyes convincingly lures one into his eclectic musical world. Oberst obviously has the talent to support the hype. "Lover I Don't Have to Love" is a dark number with its Radiohead-like doom and gloom; however, the piano swirl of "A Bowl of Oranges" offers a brighter reflection. On Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, Bright Eyes has mixed badness with beauty for a sonic storybook that relates to everyone. It's slightly overwhelming at first, but one must allow a grace period to fully absorb the abstract desire behind this album. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
'Fevers and Mirrors'
Release Date 1/1/2000
Tracks 12
Label Saddle Creek
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What The Critics Say
Nebraska's Bright Eyes are graduates from the Midwestern school of Britpop. With Fevers and Mirrors being their third full-length release, a strong adaptation of Radiohead, Blur, and Suede is conveniently wrapped up in a neat lo-fi package. But without completely ripping anyone off, Bright Eyes feature their own cadence of loose indie and shaky, emotional vocals. The results amount to a catchy collection of elaborate pop that's been perfectly captured on a nickel budget. ~ Mike DaRonco, All Music Guide
'Letting Off the Happiness'
Release Date 1/1/1998
Tracks 10
Label Saddle Creek
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The second full-length release from Omaha wunderkind Conor Oberst is a fascinating coming of age for a singer/songwriter whose respectability is chiseled in stone through his musical abilities. This ten-track outing is a lo-fi bonanza of heartfelt tunes that features musical contributions from members of such critically acclaimed groups as Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, and Lullaby for the Working Class. Special guests aside, it is Oberst's acoustic guitar and wavering emotional vocals that turn songs like the opening "If Winter Ends" into fragile masterpieces. There are also full-on rock numbers like "The City Has Sex" that help to push the envelope, and others like the Dylan-esque "June on the West Coast" that showcase the one-man band aspect of Bright Eyes. Letting Off the Happiness is a powerful record that manages to stay believable in light of the tortured emotions it tries to convey. It was recorded before Oberst was even out of his teens, but he shows the maturity of a songwriter who has seen it all, and for that he deserves respect and maybe a bit of incredulous inspection. This is a powerful record that has the ability to reach inside and identify with the listener, and while Bright Eyes went on to release some better-sounding and slightly more mature records, this one has the raw power to make people really stand up and notice. ~ Peter J. D'Angelo, All Music Guide
