Bright Eyes is an ever-changing entity. It's only constant is singer/songwriter Conor Oberst whose lyrical and musical ability continue to amaze us. When Conor finished writing the songs for 'letting off the Happiness', he gathered together a large group of musicians, some of them close friends and others mere acquaintances to lay down tracks of keyboards, drums, samples, pedal steel guitar, piano, and various other instruments lying around. Some of them recorded in his basement on an old eight track analog system, and others accompanied him into the 16 track Athens, GA recording studio known as chase park transduction. Over those twelve months, the host of musicians that showed up to contribute included members of Cursive, Drip, Lullaby for the Working Class, Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, Sorry About Dresdin, and others. For those previously familiar with the work of Bright Eyes, this record represented a big step forward in terms of fidelity, much in part to the guidance and assistance throughout the recordings by Lullaby's Mike Mogis. For those not familiar with the Bright Eyes sound, this album will serves as a perfect introduction to this chaotic bedroom pop.
