Digital Ash In A Digital Urn

"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.

Conor Oberst, better known as Bright Eyes, has proven himself both prolific and ambitious with his recent release of two simultaneous albums. While "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" takes the safer straight-up folkie route, "Digital Ash In a Digital Urn" is by far a more unique listen for its experimental, frothy production that takes Oberst's dependably simple, stream-of-conscious lyrics for a different kind of ride than lo-fi fare can do.

After the lyrically terse opening with the squeaky "Time Code" comes "Gold Mine Gutted," a bittersweet, coming of age tale with an entrancing melody that will stay sticky on the listener's brain. The urgent "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" makes an instrument out of Oberst's voice with sharp vocal overdubbing, recounting a defunct relationship with a much older woman.

"`Don't take it so bad, it's nothing you did/It's just once something dies/You can't make it live/You're a beautiful boy/You're a sweet little kid/But I am a woman.'"

The singer/songwriter convincingly plays the role of Satan in "Devil In the Details," while later celebrating domesticity in "I Believe In Symmetry."

"Oh I want to learn such simple things/No politics, no history/Till what I want and what I need/Can finally be the same."

Dark humor also occupies the disc on the tongue-in-cheek "Light Pollution," which pokes fun at the American economy, while "Hit the Switch" explores what happens when an individual can take no more and completely shuts themselves off from the world.

Furthermore, Oberst waxes romantic on "Ship In a Bottle," complete with baby cries and romantic clichés, as well as with "Theme to Piñata," which has some of the most mushy words ever set to music.

"Well I wish I had a parachute/Cause I'm falling mad for you/I can see the ground approaching now/But I'm not sure what to do/I feel like the piñata/Once you take a swing at me/If you could just crack the shell open/I think inside you would find something sweet."

While it is not succeeding as well commercially as "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning," "Digital Ash In a Digital Urn" is in fact a better record with superior stories and crisper lyrics that, while in need of a few initial listens to become comfortable to the ears, eventually settles in. Springsteen and Dylan comparisons may be premature, but it is plain to see that Oberst is a force to reckon with who is sure to continue to pull in listeners with his talent, wit and humanity.

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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