Description

Bright Eyes is the brainchild of Omaha, NE singer-songwriter Conor Oberst, around whom the band (which has at times consisted solely of Oberst) revolves. Part of an Omaha indie scene centered around the Saddle Creek label, Oberst learned at the feet of Omaha cult hero Simon Joyner, whose post-Dylan songpoetry remains a heavy influence on Bright Eyes. Oberst began recording at a prolific rate while still a teenager, but 2002's LIFTED... broke him through to the mainstream as a fresh new face.

Biography

Bright Eyes is one of many projects instigated by indie singer-songwriter and guitarist Conor Oberst (b. 1980, Omaha, Nebraska, USA). Oberst began his recording career at the age of 13, issuing an acoustic-based, home-made solo cassette. Over the next seven years, he reportedly penned hundreds of songs and appeared on albums by outfits such as Commander Venus, among others. Obviously, many of Oberst's originals went unused, especially ones penned between 1995 and 1997. The indie label Saddle Creek listened to the demos recorded during this time, and offered to issue a compilation, eventually released in 2000 as A Collection Of Songs: 1995-1997 and credited to Bright Eyes. Oberst soon decided that he would continue to go by the Bright Eyes name, even though he was joined by other musicians on subsequent recordings. Further releases soon followed at a breakneck pace, including several EPs and split singles. Bright Eyes' recordings explores similar lo-fi territory to the work of Will Oldham and Bill Callahan's Smog, although Oberst's tremulous vocals and almost adolescent verbosity sometimes betray his relative youth.
DISCOGRAPHY: The Soundtrack To My Movie (Sing Eunuchs 1996)**, Letting Off The Happiness (Saddle Creek 1998)***, Fevers And Mirrors (Saddle Creek 2000)***, shared with Son, Ambulance Oh Holy Fools: The Music Of Son, Ambulance & Bright Eyes (Saddle Creek 2001)***, Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground (Saddle Creek/Wichita 2002)****.
COMPILATIONS: A Collection Of Songs: 1995-1997 (Saddle Creek 2000)***.

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