Bright Eyes
"Digital Ash In A Digital Urn"
Saddle Creek

Sure it starts off sounding like a late '80s Ministry-dance record, but most of the record recalls the stand-out hit "Lover I Don't Have To Love"off of singer/singer-songwriter Connor Oberst's last record "Lifted..."

With the exception of some background keyboards, most of the instruments (with the exception of the drums) sound live. Think the Postal Service, but a lot peppier. Songs like "I Believe In Symmetry" are all out rockers, while "Theme To Pinata" has an almost samba-like beat.

"Easy/Lucky/Free," the last track on the record, is nothing like the finale of "Digital Ash's" companion disc "Wide Awake." The song ends in a mess of noise and skipping tape that makes you wonder in what order Oberst would want the CDs listened to. While "Digital Ash" is the more rocking of the two, "Wide Awake" ends on a much hopeful note.

Oberst's slightly-processed vocals recall Robert Smith, but the music seems a bit more spacious than anything The Cure have released in the last 15 years. But "Digital Ash" often seems sad, at least musically. Like all of Oberst's work, the lyrics are written in prose familiar to poets more than emo-kids raised on haiku and Dashboard Confessional. Strip away the techno beats, and "Digital Ash" is just like any other Bright Eyes record--a lyrical heart painted on a sleeve.

Reviewed by: George Koroneos
Reviewed on: February 28, 2005