Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes began recording music at the age of 13, only to be deemed a boy genius shortly after. His band is now enjoying such a high level of success in the U.S. that Oberst released an interview CD to substitute for press interviews.
He has recently been featured in Filter magazine, Rolling Stone, and even "All Things Considered" on NPR. All this exposure happened without the release of one Bright Eyes song on the radio.
The band experienced great success with their last album, "Lifted or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground," and released two new albums today.
While lyrically Oberst may not be the modern-day Bob Dylan, as claimed in the pages of Rolling Stone, he has certainly energized both the indie rock and singer-songwriter scenes.
The first album recorded, entitled "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning," has been repeatedly introduced by press as one of the greatest folk albums ever made. This acclaim appears to be the user-friendly term for what the album more closely resembles: the stuff of pure country. Only this country is juxtaposed with Oberst's quivering vocals and lyrical insights. This disc features guest appearances by Emmylou Harris and Jim James from My Morning Jacket.
Song material ranges from that of social turmoil to good old personal drama. Oberst incorporates a protest march into "Old Soul Song" and writes in the anti-war vein in "Road to Joy:" "So when you're asked to fight a war that's over nothing/ its best to join the side that's gonna win/ and no one knows how all of this got started/but we're gonna make them goddamn certain how it's gonna end."
Oberst comfortably slips into the more subdued and personal "Lua." Here there is a softness to the guitar and a relaxed melody that is reminiscent of the late Elliot Smith. He writes, "I've got a flask inside my pocket we can share it on the train/ If you promise to stay conscious I will try and do the same/ We might die from medication, but we sure killed all the pain/ But what was normally in the evening, by the morning seems insane."
The second album Bright Eyes recorded, "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" rips away from the usual acoustic guitar arrangement in favor of slightly creepier-than-usual lyrics and vocals immersed in a sea of electronic sound.
With 1980's electronic drum and keyboard sounds, and cameos by musicians like Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the album takes indie-rock in a new direction, and is likely to draw attention from the techno savvy as well.
The steel guitar and country song structures come together neatly on "Wide Awake," to form a more mature sound for Oberst, but it is in "Digital Ash" that he seems more at home. Here the utter chaos of his persona comes through.
On "Digital Ash," songs like "Time Code" combine a church hymn with dramatic drum beats and sinister lyrics; while on "Take it Easy," the pop-storytelling of "Bowl of Oranges" is revisited, with help from bell and whip sound effects in the background.
Though they are by no means the first indie band to break into the mainstream, Bright Eyes has remained distinct in their commitment to remain faithful to their hometown record label, Saddle Creek, despite offers from the largest labels in the country.
On top of achieving commercial success, Conor Oberst has recently established a new label, Team Love. He also toured with Bruce Springsteen and REM on the Vote for Change tour. Proceeds from the sale of each of the new albums will benefit Amnesty International.
