Customer Reviews

Noise Floor (Rarities: 1998-2005)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really was blown away by how good this album turned out to be. I'm serious when I say I was kind've turned off by the number of so-so reviews, but was I surprised by how well this album came together. Many of the songs are really well made, and the song-writing remains top-notch. Granted, this album won't convert any new listeners, but rarities albums never are ment for that. They give out new tracks when the artist is doing something else. And since all these songs are out-of-print, you really can't buy them anywhere else.
The actual quality is amazing. I really don't like recomending certain songs, because other people just download a couple of songs instead of getting the whole album, which is the point, isn't it? But I must point out some of the simply amazing 16 tracks- Drunk Kid Catholic is brilliant, Spent on Rainy Days has a feverish energy, The Vanishing Act is well made, and as a whole this album is worth buying for Bright Eyes fans. It should NOT be a first pick for someone who hasn't heard Connor Oberst before, but that's not why this album was released. A nice album for fans, though. And a standard for all rarities albums.

This album had many songs that I've heard once or twice on the occassional odd EP I would discover on the internet and then lose. It has a great range of songwriting, and the liner notes include comments on the songs creation.

In my experience compilations and "best of" CDs rarely function as a cohesive whole. That is why I was surprised that the songs on this album flowed together so well, especially since each song was recorded at a different time and for varying purposes.
My only complaint, as a die-hard Bright Eyes fan who also lacks a turntable, would be that the CD version is missing several tracks that are on the LP which can be purchased on the Saddle-Creek site.

This is my favourite Bright Eyes album. The lyrics are pure and honest. It has a very nice variety of styles, from songs that sound like they belong on Digital Ash to beautiful cover songs, my favourite cover being Devil Town. I think that this album was definitly worth buying, 100%. For me, the highlights of the album would have to be Happy Birthday to Me (February 15) and I've Been Eating (For You). The lyrics are wonderful and presented beautifully.
If you're just getting into Conor Oberst's stylistic writing then I recommend you buy I'm Wide Awake or Lifted but for the long-time Bright Eyes fan this would be #1 on my list.

=]

If you have been listening to bright eyes since the stone ages, and are obsessed with Connor Oberst's superior songwriting, you probably want to hear everything the band has to offer. One thing about most of Bright Eyes' albums is they all have a theme or a general sound. Instead of that, the Noise Floor is comprised of songs that were not bad, but were written at the wrong time to fit into the CD that was being written at the time. Then some songs are from way back in the past, one of them even dating back to 1998. Individually the songs are great, and some of my favorites. If you love any of Bright Eye's songs you will enjoy those of this album.

A number of excellent tracks, including "Trees Get Wheeled Away", which is my favorite. I would recommend for anyone really into Bright Eyes. The Daniel Johnston cover is really good too, "Devil Town".

Great mix of rare tracks + some original tracks. I always love to hear the first version of songs and lyrics.

This "new" release from Bright Eyes is actually pretty good. There were a couple tracks on the album that I had already heard sometime before, but some of the ones I hadn't heard before were terrific. Conor even has some guest appearences from such artists as M Ward, and Jimmy LaValle from the band otherwise known as The Album Leaf. Most of the songs are great, but i found a couple others to be kind of bland and boring. It's nice to hear some of the Bright Eyes songs I had never heard before. And it is true that the album somehow seems to all fit quiet nicely together although it is not an actual studio release. One of my favorite songs would have to be "I Will Be Grateful for This Day," and sounds kind of like a pre Digital Ash song although it really isn't. A song that does sound like it could have been directly off of Digital Ash was "Blue Angels Air Show." I found it amusing to see though the stage Conor was in when listening to each song. You can almost picture which album each song would've been on if they had been put onto one of hhis studio albums. The song "Bad Blood" really amazes me because it sounds like a song Bright Eyes would've made, but then I later find out that Jimmy from The Album Leaf is the one who made al the music for that song. That song has recently become one of my favorites off the album but it is kind of a dissapointment to find out that none of the music was recorded by Bright Eyes. If you're a big fan of Bright Eyes then you'd more than likely already heard a few of these songs, but just because you've already heard some of them shouldn't be your reason for not bying it because this album is defanitely worth a listen. You'll be quiet surprised by it actually and see how many songs Conor has been keeping hidden from us. Well, actually now hidden because most are on singles, or other random compilations. But atleast you won't have to go off searching for each of these songs individually since they're all on this disk. Ok, whatever... Just check it out if you're a Bright Eyes fan...

Conor Oberst... whoever doesn't like this (this meaning bright eyes in general) has been so desensitized by the crap that runs on the radio daily that they like noisy rap, or pop boy punk. Every song of his puts me in a trance, a surreal state of mind where sometimes I sit and just stare. I can't say I have a favorite album, or song; they all are so brilliant that there is no way to pick.
If you are looking for something unique, beautiful (in a surreal and deep way), and just completely different from anything you've heard... buy any cd of his. You won't be disappointed. I'd recommend starting with either Lifted, or I'm Wide Awake just because those two have more of a country base to them. Fevers and Mirrors, Noise Floors, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn are more alternative.
Let me just say that you have to give it more than one listen, even I didn't like it when I first heard it, but it grows on you. And once it's on, it won't leave. Enjoy a lyricist that has no boundaries, and no end.

For bright eyes fans & non- bright eyes fans, conor never fails to impress.
The way he twists his words into stories or lyrical form, his imperfect voice gives him edge.
I would highly reccomend this album.
But I'm a biased reveiw, bright eyes has been my favorite band for years.
Conor Oberst never fails me.