Digital Ash in a Digital Urn

Bright Eyes

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 25, 2005)
• Original Release Date: January 25, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Saddle Creek
• ASIN: B00070FWUG
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,186 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Having established himself as a folk singer-songwriter of considerable weight with 2002's--take a deep breath--Lifted, or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, Conor Oberst takes the opportunity to experiment here. Released simultaneously with the more conventional follow-up disc, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn sees the Omaha-based leader of Bright Eyes teaming up with a diverse set of musicians that includes Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner for a collection of songs that aim to recreate the alien landscapes of Radiohead but more often come off sounding like midperiod Depeche Mode. --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description
Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst continues to earn his reputation as our most respected young troubadour with almost frightening ease. He's been recording since the age of 13, and for the past few years he's been tagged "rock's boy genius" by the music press. Now, with the release of these two albums, we have unequivocal proof that the 24 year-old Oberst belongs amid our lineage of great American songwriters. These albums are a soundly articulated slice of modern life rolled into two very different records, both bursting with all of the heartfelt poetry for which Bright Eyes' records have earned their acclaim.Of course, the rough edges haven't gone away - the palpitation of a splintering note, the crack of a voice as it overextends, the clumsy thump of a misplaced thumb. It's all still there. But there's a glorious new level of depth and a maturation of texture, writing and delivery.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Digital "Ashes", January 28, 2005

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" seems like an appropriate name for this album, one of two Bright Eyes has released in early 2005. It's about time and death, and it's swamped in digital music. Indie-rock's golden boy Conor Oberst lets out his inner Thom Yorke in this experimental album, which retains a dark, rough edge but doesn't quite measure up to Oberst's other work.

This time around, Oberst's mournful songs are dressed up in artful synth. Think of this as Bright Eyes' "Kid A" -- an experimental album that may herald a whole new direction for Bright Eyes, or may just be Oberst diddling around in the studio. "Digital Ash" takes some time to get moving, but is breathtaking when it finally does.

While "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" has a stripped-down, warmer sound, "Digital Ash" is darker and colder -- part gritty rock, part new wave. Its heart is "I Believe in Symmetry," a jagged rock song with a transcendent climax. It's accompanied by the symphonic prettiness of "Gold Mine Gutted," and the cacophonic pop of "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)."

Oberst often overdoes it with all the synth and swelling soundscapes, with some very choppy beats put in. Regular instruments like a snare drum, acoustic guitar and strings keep it grounded. But despite the acoustic instruments, the dense electronic blips take this far away from country and indie rock.

His songwriting gets lost in the mix in songs like the vaguely loungey "Devil in the Details." His vocals also get messed with in a few songs, which just gives the feeling that parts of "Digital Ash" is overproduced. Most of the time his slightly trembly vocals are left alone, rising triumphantly over the multilayered music.

Conor Oberst is often maligned as pretentious, for songs that would be considered genius in an older musician. But his latest two albums establish Oberst as two things -- a talented prodigy, and one willing to take musican risks. Bright Eyes' "Digital Ash in A Digital Urn" is not the strongest work he has done, but it is definitely the bravest.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is great (and he can do better), April 10, 2008

By	psychomuse - See all my reviews

Digital Ash is a bittersweet symphony. It is the warbling voice of Conor Oberst lurking somewhere in resignation between hope and despair. It is a dark work of art that plays hide and seek with electronic shadows and acoustic lights. It is, perhaps, his "Sgt Pepper's" and what's scary is that he can do better. And he no doubt will.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars like it or don't, but don't have a cow, February 4, 2005

By	Camilla Macaulay - See all my reviews

There are generally three kinds of people who had fits over this album:
First, there are those who don't care for Bright Eyes at all. That's totally understandable, we all have our different tastes. The only ones among them I have a problem with are those who like to criticize him for the emotions expressed in his music. Some people may consider anyone who expresses excessive sadness, constant longing, and (gasp) self pity to be a "total poser", but guess what, those are actually emotions that people have. If you want to say that just because you can't relate to something means it isn't art, then you have no concept of what art is. The meaning behind the whole cubism thing went right over my head, but I would be ignorant if I thought that decreased its value as art to anyone else.
Secondly, there are those who are into Bright Eyes, but either don't like the new turn he's taken with this album, or just don't like the genre it resembles at all. Again, totally understandable, but before you have a cow over the departure from his usual style, perhaps you should look at the cd sitting next to it on the shelf. It's called, "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning", and I think you might be happier with it. You see, not only did he experiment with something different, but he was thoughtful enough not to forget all of us who have been craving a good old folk song.
Lastly, there are the "indie rock" snobs who are far to good to listen to anything that could pass for "mainstream", or anything that sounds remotely like what the kid who sits next to them in calculus has in his cd player. To them I say, you're right. This album is beneath you. You should return to your I-pod stuffed with Death Cab for Cutie and Franz Ferdinand because no one listens to them except for you and the entire cast of The OC.

Personally, I like this album a lot. Perhaps not as much as "I'm Wide Awake", but I'd give it about a 4. If you're looking for something like "Lifted or The Story's in the Soil", you may be disappointed. However, if you can let go of the preconception that Coner Oberst is, "like, the greatest songwriter in the history of the world, ever", then you just might be able to see it for what it is- still much better than most of the crap that's out there today. Yes, it's different, but change isn't always bad. You should at least listen to "Down in a Rabbit Hole", and "Take it Easy (Love Nothing)" before taking what the critics say too seriously.