2008 Woodie Awards
Eyes Wide Open
Conor Oberst and his band Bright Eyes returns with a whole new outlook with their latest album, Cassadega
Caitlyn Nolan, Online Editor
Issue date: 4/18/07Section: Entertainment
There are so many different
words critics and fans use to
describe Conor Oberst:
emotional, sensitive, clever
and genius are typical
(along with "gorgeous," a title many of
his new female fans have given him,
despite his new "I haven't bathed in ten
days" appearance). But that's what
Oberst and his band, Bright Eyes, seem
to be about: change. It keeps the band
fresh, allures new fans and leaves its listeners
craving more.
For the past 15 years, Oberst has
been experimenting with different
bands and different sounds. With Bright
Eyes, a band that basically consists of
Oberst and an ever-changing ensemble
of musicians, the boy genius has proven
that he can dabble in any sub-genre of
indie rock and still woo the critics.
Whether it was the rootsy I'm Wide
Awake, It's Morning, or the album's
electronic counterpart, Digital Ash in a
Digital Urn, Oberst has found success
with whatever he does. On the band's
latest release, Cassadaga, Oberst takes
the sound from one of his older records,
Fevers and Mirrors, and adds quite the
creative twist to it.
Named after a community in
Florida that is home to psychics, mediums
and fortune tellers, Cassadaga
opens appropriately with a psychic
telling Oberst that "Cassadaga might
just be a premonition of a place you're
going to visit."
Just as he seems unsure on all of
his previous records, this record shows
Oberst as even more unsure and vulnerable
than ever. He says that he sees
himself in a place where "everything
must belong somewhere" and "death
may come invisible."
With lyrics like these, it is easy to
see why many (namely those who are
not familiar with the band) slap the
"emo" label on Oberst. The insecure,
vulnerable, boyish musician's voice is
so shaky that when he sings, it sounds
as if he is sitting outside in sopping wet
clothes in the dead of winter. However,
words critics and fans use to
describe Conor Oberst:
emotional, sensitive, clever
and genius are typical
(along with "gorgeous," a title many of
his new female fans have given him,
despite his new "I haven't bathed in ten
days" appearance). But that's what
Oberst and his band, Bright Eyes, seem
to be about: change. It keeps the band
fresh, allures new fans and leaves its listeners
craving more.
For the past 15 years, Oberst has
been experimenting with different
bands and different sounds. With Bright
Eyes, a band that basically consists of
Oberst and an ever-changing ensemble
of musicians, the boy genius has proven
that he can dabble in any sub-genre of
indie rock and still woo the critics.
Whether it was the rootsy I'm Wide
Awake, It's Morning, or the album's
electronic counterpart, Digital Ash in a
Digital Urn, Oberst has found success
with whatever he does. On the band's
latest release, Cassadaga, Oberst takes
the sound from one of his older records,
Fevers and Mirrors, and adds quite the
creative twist to it.
Named after a community in
Florida that is home to psychics, mediums
and fortune tellers, Cassadaga
opens appropriately with a psychic
telling Oberst that "Cassadaga might
just be a premonition of a place you're
going to visit."
Just as he seems unsure on all of
his previous records, this record shows
Oberst as even more unsure and vulnerable
than ever. He says that he sees
himself in a place where "everything
must belong somewhere" and "death
may come invisible."
With lyrics like these, it is easy to
see why many (namely those who are
not familiar with the band) slap the
"emo" label on Oberst. The insecure,
vulnerable, boyish musician's voice is
so shaky that when he sings, it sounds
as if he is sitting outside in sopping wet
clothes in the dead of winter. However,
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