Conor Oberst, the singer/songwriter behind Bright Eyes, bills himself modestly as "guitars, Rhodes, piano, voice" on this 2002 five-song EP featuring nearly two dozen vocalists and instrumentalists.
Above the din of Elephant 6-like orchestration, something that has escalated since his work with Neutral Milk Hotel and Of Montreal, there is his fragile, crackling voice full of laments for lost love in the Nebraska night.
And as his label, Saddle Creek, has seen prosperity from mates the Faint, real money was well spent on tighter, professional recording.
The opening "From a Balance Beam," and "Loose Leaves" pick up the pop pace, the latter aligning with the Strokes' style by distorting Oberst's chat-sing while crunchy keyboards bounce along.
On "Messenger Bird's Song," his cinematic narrative is complimented by banjo.
The imploring turns to collegiate rambles on "We Are Free Men," where his sneer of "Anything to entertain yourself" sounds like a reluctant Jarvis Cocker.
Oberst has become somewhat of a heartland torch singer, and this EP hints at the busted glam of what's to come.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | From a Balance Beam | Bright Eyes | Play | 03:40 | 0 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | We Are Free Men | Bright Eyes | Play | 04:35 | 0 MB | 29 MB |
| 3 | Loose Leaves | Bright Eyes | Play | 03:42 | 0 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Messenger Bird | Bright Eyes | Play | 05:29 | 0 MB | 30 MB |
| 5 | Untitled | Bright Eyes | Play | 01:38 | 0 MB | 8 MB |
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| 19 mins | 119 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clark Baechle | Drums |
| 2 | Bright Eyes | Primary Artist |
| 3 | Chris Brooks | Piano |
| 4 | Stefanie Drootin | Organ |
| 5 | Orenda Fink | Trumpet, Vocals, Voices |
| 6 | Todd Fink | Horn Arrangements, Vocals, Voices |
| 7 | Simon Joyner | Consultant, Vocals, Voices |
| 8 | Jiha Lee | Flute, Vocals |
| 9 | Andy LeMaster | Engineer, Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Horn Arrangements, Vocals, Voices |
| 10 | Clay Leverett | Drums, Vocals |
| 11 | Matt Maginn | Bass, Layout Design |
| 12 | Mike Mogis | Banjo, Bells, Dobro, Engineer, Glockenspiel, Guitar (Electric), Hammer Dulcimer, Mandolin, Mixing, Vibraphone |
| 13 | Zack Nipper | Scenery |
| 14 | Conor Oberst | Fender Rhodes, Guitar, Horn Arrangements, Piano, Vocals, Voices |
| 15 | Clint Schnase | Drums |
| 16 | Casey Scott | Bass, Percussion |
| 17 | Mike Sweeney | Drums |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |