I'm Wide Awake. It's Morning

So against my better judgment I recently purchased Bright Eyes' new CD I’m Wide Awake. It’s Morning. Once upon a time Bright Eyes was one of my favorite bands, then I got over the fact that my father didn’t hug me enough when I was younger. But seriously, Bright Eyes and I had a bad break up after Conor Oberst went all emo and sh*t on me in a concert in Tucson. I’m still not entirely ready to talk about all that went on. Needless to say Bright Eyes only played 10 songs, including encore, maybe even less. I’ve been bitter ever since. So when I saw the CD for 9.99 at Best Buy, I was skeptical to say the least. I had heard that the CD was very good from a number of people. Plus I was in a good mood b/c school was almost done and I felt like buying a CD. And it was either this or the new Dave Matthews*. So I bought the CD and was first taken in by the stunning art work. The Cover, the liner notes and the CD itself are all very beautiful. And as for the CD itself… I absolutely love it. Now this isn’t just some old school, guilty pleasure kick I’m on, this CD is real farking good. It’s all acoustic based folk, which Oberst pulls off masterfully. If he sticks to just this style, and Desaparecidos' style, he could actually have a respectable career. This is far and away the least pretentious and melodramatic Conor has ever been; and he's toned down on the bravado too. Even his superiority complex lines, which are few and far between**, are far more subtle this time around. I’m still flabbergasted by how much I like this album. The highlight tracks are Road to Joy, which cleverly samples Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, First Day of My Life, Poison Oak, Train Under Water and We Are Nowhere And It's Now. All in all a very solid album, which I begrudgedly recommend to all of you.

Until We Meet Again

* It’s a joke, I F---ing swear.
** When compared to past Bright Eyes’ Albums