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52 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Digital "Ashes", January 28, 2005
"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.
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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
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.
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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
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.
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