And So He Grows Up
It's been a long time coming.
That is -- Conor Oberst turning the corner in his songwriting abilities. It's been obvious since the kid first picked up a guitar that he some pretty special songwriting skills. He immediately learned to write his own simple songs rather than take the route most beginner guitarists do and learn countless cover songs. The early Bright Eyes songs showcased an obviously pained soul with a knack for clever wordplay. Some of the songs on Fevers and Mirrors and Letting off the Happiness suffer from being tuneless despite having brilliant lyrics. Lifted is an album where Oberst started to show real signs that he was capable of moving away from the self-indulgent ballads of pain ("Arienette", "Something Vague") and more towards the well-written songs ("June on the West Coast") that had put him into a class of the best songwriters in modern music. However, the real gems on Lifted ("Laura Laurent", "You Will") are outnumbered by the type of self-indulgent pain ballads ("Nothing Gets Crossed Out", "False Advertising") that make people hate Oberst so fucking much. These songs are incredible, but they are incredible because of what they mean to mostly adolescent listeners -- myself included. It's tough to imagine a jaded 40 year old shedding tears as Conor Oberst sings "I fell under the weight of a schoolboy crush".
The dual releases of 2005 from Bright Eyes found Conor making one truly outstanding record (I'm Wide Awake) and another mostly self-indulgent disc (Digital Ash). The songs on I'm Wide Awake were mostly well crafted and found Conor growing up both as a songwriter and a person. "Landlocked Blues" was easily the finest thing he had ever written and was truly the moment when he distinguished himself as better than Ryan Adams or John Darnielle or even Jeff Tweedy because none of those guys have written a song as perfect as "Landlocked Blues". Though Conor wrote a lot of songs around this time that focused more on their lyrical content than on musical prowess ("True Blue", "When the President Talks to God") none of them seemed to make it onto I'm Wide Awake.
Now Conor is preparing the release of the mostly lackluster Four Winds EP and then his sixth proper full length Cassadaga. The latter promises to be the most accomplished album that Conor has ever been a part of making especially judging by the tremendously catchy first single "Four Winds". I first heard "Four Winds" at Bonnaroo 2006 when Bright Eyes opened their set with it. I found the tune to be stuck in my head for the rest of that weekend and beyond. Now that the studio recording of this tune has leaked I have been nearly unable to stop playing this song on repeat. It blows "Landlocked Blues" out of the water and truly is the most impressive track this band has yet recorded. If "Landlocked Blues" really was Conor turning the corner and honing his craft then this song is great proof of it. Try to not get this one stuck in your head and look for Cassadaga in early April.
Bright Eyes - Four Winds
That is -- Conor Oberst turning the corner in his songwriting abilities. It's been obvious since the kid first picked up a guitar that he some pretty special songwriting skills. He immediately learned to write his own simple songs rather than take the route most beginner guitarists do and learn countless cover songs. The early Bright Eyes songs showcased an obviously pained soul with a knack for clever wordplay. Some of the songs on Fevers and Mirrors and Letting off the Happiness suffer from being tuneless despite having brilliant lyrics. Lifted is an album where Oberst started to show real signs that he was capable of moving away from the self-indulgent ballads of pain ("Arienette", "Something Vague") and more towards the well-written songs ("June on the West Coast") that had put him into a class of the best songwriters in modern music. However, the real gems on Lifted ("Laura Laurent", "You Will") are outnumbered by the type of self-indulgent pain ballads ("Nothing Gets Crossed Out", "False Advertising") that make people hate Oberst so fucking much. These songs are incredible, but they are incredible because of what they mean to mostly adolescent listeners -- myself included. It's tough to imagine a jaded 40 year old shedding tears as Conor Oberst sings "I fell under the weight of a schoolboy crush".
The dual releases of 2005 from Bright Eyes found Conor making one truly outstanding record (I'm Wide Awake) and another mostly self-indulgent disc (Digital Ash). The songs on I'm Wide Awake were mostly well crafted and found Conor growing up both as a songwriter and a person. "Landlocked Blues" was easily the finest thing he had ever written and was truly the moment when he distinguished himself as better than Ryan Adams or John Darnielle or even Jeff Tweedy because none of those guys have written a song as perfect as "Landlocked Blues". Though Conor wrote a lot of songs around this time that focused more on their lyrical content than on musical prowess ("True Blue", "When the President Talks to God") none of them seemed to make it onto I'm Wide Awake.
Now Conor is preparing the release of the mostly lackluster Four Winds EP and then his sixth proper full length Cassadaga. The latter promises to be the most accomplished album that Conor has ever been a part of making especially judging by the tremendously catchy first single "Four Winds". I first heard "Four Winds" at Bonnaroo 2006 when Bright Eyes opened their set with it. I found the tune to be stuck in my head for the rest of that weekend and beyond. Now that the studio recording of this tune has leaked I have been nearly unable to stop playing this song on repeat. It blows "Landlocked Blues" out of the water and truly is the most impressive track this band has yet recorded. If "Landlocked Blues" really was Conor turning the corner and honing his craft then this song is great proof of it. Try to not get this one stuck in your head and look for Cassadaga in early April.
Bright Eyes - Four Winds
posted by Astro Boy | 5:01:00 PM
1 Comments:
I think you articulated my thoughts about Conor Oberst better than I ever could.
I look forward to listening to this song when my roomates aren't sleeping/my headphones aren't all broke to shit.
Peace Koala Lover
Post a Comment
<< Home