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Bright Eyes
Cassadaga
Saddle Creek
Article written by
Bob M - May 3, 2007
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By his own account, Conor Oberst, the creative force behind Bright Eyes, apparently toured himself and the band into the ground during 2005; after the grueling two-leg tour, Oberst and the band took a break of sorts. The vibe of this newest record stems directly from that change in momentum.
“Cassadaga” seems the beautiful child of the warm, folksy “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” and the far-ranging electro-freak-out “Digital Ash in a Digital Urn”, which sounds like Radiohead got itself lost in a Kansas cornfield for a month with nothing but a computer and jug of moonshine. Incorporating subtle touches of experimentalist electronica into rootsy Americana and lilting orchestrations, “Cassadaga” leads off with a decided weird introductory track ‘Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)’ that features almost 3 minutes of metaphysical chatter, then veers smoothly back into familiar alt-country territory--all in the same track.
The remainder of the record, with the exception of the utterly painful and unbearable ‘Make a Plan to Love Me’ (a swooning, plodding mess of a song), is the best of what Oberst and Bright Eyes has proven itself capable. ‘Four Winds’, one of the best tracks on the album and possibly one of the best songs of 2007, is a rollicking, punchy gem that condemns religion all while expressing an undeniable spirituality outside the boundaries of organized worship. ‘Cleanse Song’, clearly influenced and guided by the exhaustion of a double tour in 2005, features a rolling up tempo beat and a down-home, echoy lap steel guitar--with some truly odd instrumentation (flute, oboe, uke, clarinet, lap steel and half a dozen percussion instruments)--all of which backs lyrics with a clear directive to take some time off, get some perspective and breathe.
There’s no shortage of protest songs, though none as powerful and direct as 2006’s ‘When the President Talks to God’. ‘No One Would Riot for Less’ takes on politics in the scope of an apocalyptic love song; ‘Soul Singer in a Session Band’ is a scathing indictment of the music industry; and ‘Four Winds’ puts organized religion in its sights.
The ending track, ‘Lime Tree’, is a devastatingly beautiful piece that compresses into 6 minutes what can only be years of pain, undercut with a powerful string arrangement and haunting backup vocals from Stacey and Sherri DuPree, Z Berg and Rachael Yamagata. Yet, despite its black tone, the song, and thus the album, ends with the almost contented lines, ‘I took off my shoes and walked into the woods / I felt lost and found with every step I took’. This line speaks to the entire album, from righteous indignation and weary resignation to hopeful contentment--all played over a potent soundtrack.
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