Bright Eyes - The People’s Key
Saddle Creek, 2011
For the final Bright Eyes LP, Conor Oberst & Co stripped away the alt-country sound they had been working with (with great mainstream success, considering that I heard a reworked version of “First Day of My Life” in an insurance commercial the other day) since I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. In a way, The People’s Key feels like a natural progression that spans all the way back to Oberst’s bedroom recordings. Though I zoned out on Bright Eyes during Oberst’s “doing cocaine and dating Winona Rider” period, these songs feel like they are the product of having done some living and come out on the other side. Oberst dwells on spirituality in a way that really resonated with me in 2011. Rastafarianism, Celtic Paganism, and Buddhism all make appearances, and the overall effect is that of trying to feel at home in a world that is often cruel and unusual (“A snuff film on a jumbotron for all the world to see”). Also, it wouldn't be a Bright Eyes post if I didn't mention that I still own that original copy of Letting Off the Happiness with the screen printed cover that I bought at the Lawrence Antique Mall for $35. It's not as valuable as it was, but still in the $200 range, and I'm still terrified to sell it lest it becomes one of those highly sought after records that people drop megabank on years from now. This is all despite having kids who could destroy it in two seconds if they so chose. Alas.
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