Reviews

Rolling Stone (No. 966, pp.57-8) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[A] masterpiece of country-flavored heartland angst, plowing the musical ground between THE FREEWHEELIN' BOB DYLAN and the Cure's SEVENTEEN SECONDS..."
Spin (pp.85-6) - "[A]n often-great set of songs about loneliness - romantic, professional, even civic." - Grade: A-

Entertainment Weekly (No. 804/805, pp.130-1) - "[O]berst retains his eye for evocative detail....the ambient alt-country arrangements lend shape to his pileup of words and music..." - Grade: B
Mojo (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[M]agic....Alternately thundering and hushed, exuding the warmth of human breadth, its rhapsodies present a portrait of an artist at an early height of his powers..."

Uncut (pp.72-3) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[B]uilt on a classic country template, and frequently dropping to an intimate hush, where Oberst's voice, and the harmonies of guest Emmylou Harris, wait to lure you in..."

Alternative Press (p.81) - 5 stars out of 5 - "A country record inspired by the city, I'M WIDE AWAKE is riddled with soft folk fantasies and acoustic ramblings..."

Magnet (p.88) - "[F]ull of inventive, successful ideas....By a country, city or suburban mile, WIDE AWAKE is Bright Eyes' finest hour."