Inherent in youth is a kinetic energy, vitality and passion that has the potential to move masses. Every new generation picks a voice that will offer them something to identify with -- something to prove to them that the crazy things they’re feeling and the anger that they’re having and the disillusionment that’s plaguing them is normal. Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst is that voice.
Born 1980 in Omaha and recording since he was 13, Conor Oberst owns a voice that quakes with the tumultuous energy that only youth can produce. Oberst's incredible ability to tell stories with his songs and paint intricate pictures with his words is reminiscent, without being derivative, of mid-period Dylan. And his gift for composing and delivering those songs is pure poetry. As the mastermind behind the acclaimed Bright Eyes collective, Oberst’s genius is found in a pretense-free, orchestral approach to songwriting. His most recent, most musically vigorous and rockin’ project, Desaparecidos, toured the nation and released Read Music / Speak Spanish to enormous amounts of critical acclaim.
Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground is the latest, most significant release from Oberst and the notable cast of Bright Eyes players. Oberst’s mainstay production team of Mike Mogis and Andy Lemaster (Now It’s Overhead) lend performances on the record along with other noteworthy Omaha musicians including Todd and Clark Baechle (The Faint), Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor (Azure Ray), Matt Maginn and Clint Schnase (Cursive), and Jiha Lee (The Good Life).
The Bright Eyes tour in spring of 2002 saw Oberst take the stage in a powder blue suit, surrounded by six beautiful female musicians, his sense of bona fide showmanship entrancing his audience. At his two sold-out Bowery Ballroom performances in New York City, you could have heard a pin drop between songs as hundreds of fans and new converts fell under his delicate spell -- proof of Oberst’s virtuosity as the consummate performer.
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On Bright Eyes' 1998 release 'A Collection of songs...' it was clearly evident to me through the static and low-fidelity recordings that a brilliant songwriter was emerging. It was the release of 'letting off the Happiness' later that same year, with its giant step forward in terms of fidelity, that gave thousands of others around the world that same hope. It Is with 'Fevers and Mirrors', the third full-length and follow up to last years 'Every Day And Every Night EP', that we can all see where Conor and crew have been heading.
Conor Oberst and friends had the luxury of spending over a month recording 'Fevers and Mirrors' on to 24-tracks at Dead Space Studios (owned and operated by Lullaby for the working class' Mogis brothers). Reunited with 'letting off the Happiness' producers Mike Mogis and Andy Lemaster, they successfully captured both the hi-fi quality of the studio as well as the intimacy of their previous recordings. The most focused and conceptually complete release to date, Bright Eyes' 'Fevers and Mirrors' is a modern day masterpiece from one of the most important songwriters of our time. Twelve songs of brutal honesty and ingenious storytelling bring us a bit closer to this undeniable talent.
Discover for yourself Conor's amazing talent at combining well-crafted lyrics with haunting music and melodies to produce songs that are manic, depressing, honest, and inspiring.
Bright Eyes is an ever-changing entity. It's only constant is singer/songwriter Conor Oberst whose lyrical and musical ability continue to amaze us.
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