Bright Eyes
Nebraska has borne Bright Eyes; a youthful creature of bountiful scope and intrepid whimsy, a character whose voice strains emotion and a depiction of torture and neurosis and beauty.
Conor Oberst, he’s also known as. The twenty-something pixie-cherub that grates and innovates with luminous tales of intense rapture and often gentle poignancy. A modern-day Dylan, he’s been heralded. And with commercial success recently ascending to the heady heights of his holding both positions number one and two in the Billboard Charts towards the end of 2004, ’05 is looking set as the year that BE becomes more than just a niche concern.
The Past: aged 14, he formed indie combo Commander Venus and spawned two albums. Upon their breaking, the respective members decided to keep their Saddle Creek label active, going on to release the output of cult favourites Cursive and Lullaby For The Working Class, in addition to Oberst’s eventual Bright Eyes. His first two albums – ‘A Collection Of Songs: Recorded 1995-1997’ and ‘Letting Off The Happiness’ (recorded alongside members of Neutral Milk Hotel and Of Montreal) – were unleashed in 1998 to a critical welcoming. An impending EP the following year, ‘Every Day & Every Night’, continued the ripples of interest, but ‘Fevers & Mirrors’ in 2000 really set the mould, showcasing a quivering, interrogative talent that not only belied years, but contemporaries alike.
The interest rife, Oberst retreated into the studio and on to live-stages during ’01 to nurture his Desaparecidos rock act – similarly well-received – before offloading his mighty opus ‘Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground’ the following year. Further EPs have followed since, but it’s with 2005’s dual album releases – ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’ and ‘Digital Ash In A Digital Urn’ – that the wider world is set to listen. There’ll be no choice. Sounds this wondrously gargantuan can’t fail to take over after so long.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: View Oberst’s co-run rekkid-company, inclusive of info on equally awesome label-mates The Faint, Beep Beep, Cursive et al.
WICHITA RECORDINGS: Examine the web-space of Oberst’s prior UK recording-company outlet – prior acts have also included Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Elastica (for their final release) and My Morning Jacket. The current roster numbers Bloc Party and The Bronx amongst others.
EP-REVIEW – ‘ONE JUG OF WINE, TWO VESSELS’ 2004: his split-release with Neva Dinova given the rockfeedback once-over.
CONCERT REVIEW – NEW YORK TOWN HALL 2003: Nicole Spector examines Oberst’s efforts with Arab Strap in a NY space.
CONCERT REVIEW – LONDON SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE 2004: a co-headline alongside Modest Mouse.
ARTICLE – ‘IT’S GENIUS… I SWEAR’ 2004: fellow solo star Ed Harcourt writes an exclusive essay for rockfeedback regarding Oberst’s genius.