Tuesday, April 26th, 2005
So I'm late, which will probably be a reoccuring theme until I finish up this year of school. It's pretty rough. Well, honestly, I'm not posting on time because I was out until 4:00 am last night celebrating the end of my last neuro test. Highlights included some friends singing karaoke down at the Brick and one of my friends touching him or herself while singing, as well as another friend being terribly, terribly drunk. Hope that person woke up with an intact liver, which is only slightly likely. A moment of silence.

Anyway, let's talk about this week's album, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. This album is the more produced of Bright Eye's two new, simultaneously released albums. As one might suspect from the title, there is a bit more electronic element to this album than to I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, which is much more folky/country sounding.

Digital Ash starts off with Conor Oberst breathing heavily into the microphone for about 90 seconds for music actually starts. So I guess that kind of gives an indication where this album is going. Think of the song Lover, I Don't Have to Love off his previous album, Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (kind of a long album name isn't it?) And with that in mind, Oberst sings his way through the album, offering insights that seem pretty indepth, especially considering Oberst is only 24! The music itself is pretty easy, as long as you can tolerate Oberst's rather individual voice, something not everyone can do.

Arc of Time is a pretty poppy song, but I really love the electronic percussion in the background. Take It Easy (Love Nothing) is another more upbeat song. Bright Eyes used this song for his single to this album (which also includes a couple of exclusive tracks). Devil in the Details slows down a bit and is certainly a little heavier on the lyrical content. I Believe in Symmetry creeps up on you as one of the more outstanding tracks on the album, and also kinda floors you when you listen to the lyrics and really think about what they mean. But really, aren't most Bright Eyes songs like that?

So yeah, Bright Eyes new album Digital Ash in a Digital Urn is pretty outstanding. It's a good listen for sure and you can always count on Oberst to put out some quality, thought provoking lyrics. Throw in a quality cameo in Nick Zinner of the , and Conor Oberst really put out an album that is a bit different than his usual fare. And you can definitely catch Bright Eyes performing this album in the KC area. Even better, the "opener" is the Faint, so you can expect a rocking show. It's at the Uptown on Thursday 4/28, so I'd definitely grab a ticket if it's not sold out. And then'd be a perfect time to pick up some new music . . . better just to help out Saddle-Creek directly and bypass all those pesky jumbo music stores (unless you're hitting up Love Garden or something like that because Love Garden is awesome). So enjoy your week and hope you guys can make it to some great concerts coming up.

Bright Eyes - Digital Ash in a Digital Urn

-patrick

ps. Scott has a show (a battle of the bands kinda thing) coming up on Friday at the Jackpot. Come cheer him on so that they can win some recording time at Black Lodge Recording Studios!