Bright Eyes'
Every Day and Every Night EP establishes
Conor Oberst as a teenage genius. The Omaha native explores themes as distant as love and divorce and as oblique as the meaning of youth with an unexpected amount of maturity.
Oberst's showcase is "A Perfect Sonnet," a brilliant piece involving his voice and an acoustic guitar. Midway through the song, drums and other guitars appear, pushing
Oberst's voice to a level of intensity not heard since
Hüsker Dü's "Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill." The breathtaking vocal croaks, cries, and moans on a single syllable. The cuts on
Every Day and Every Night could pass as Okie folk songs or lo-fi indie rock; his songwriting and tone is that good. The pedal steels during "On My Way to Work" feel just as genuine as the looped beats in "Neely O'Hara." What is most impressive about
Oberst and his
Bright Eyes project is how he manages to tackle so many issues, so many styles, and so many emotions, yet each feels as meaningful and honest as the last. Simply put, the best singer/songwriter record in ten years. ~ Yancey Strickler