The People's Key - Bright Eyes

4.0/5.0

The People's Key is a driving record, maintaining Bright Eyes' energy.

“Firewall,” the first, seven-minute track on The People's Key is set around an oral report of sorts attempting to persuade (I think...) us about our concepts time. Conor Oberst has been one for experimentation, so to hear this rant, something outside of his regular folk-rock faith, wasn't too surprising. Nonetheless, it served as a disruption that required the listener to pay more attention-- it definitely did not have same “cynic-portrayed-happy” of I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning's “At the Bottom of Everything.”

In my experience with Oberst's songwriting, I find that it generally consists of giving topical concepts a tinge of pessimism, making music for those lyrics that is ironically bright. The songs following “Firewall” seem bright but don't give me the same understanding, “oh that's witty, Conor” smile. Rather, I hear music simply about goings-on that blends perfectly with songs about love and the strange. For instance, post-opener “Shell Games” is an energetic track that shows a difference in respect to the Bright Eyes standard. Oberst sings about his “heavy love,” with a chorus that is carried by an arena-rock guitar riff (the brief, power-chord ridden kind that's played right before the drums kick in,) and then is slammed by that electro-pop-rock-kind-of-thing that's achieved by many of the indie rock field today. (see: Belle & Sebastian's “Come On Sister” from Write About Love.) Regardless, Oberst's divergence with his words does not shame his previous work-- his music merely is understanding of its vocals.

Oberst takes a break for the dissonant “Approximate Sunlight.” Even though it is disconcerting, it's a calming track; the song that puts the exuberance of previous songs to a brief halt. This is negated with the very next song on the album, and possibly the album's most listenable, “Haile Selassie,” is set up with introductory delay, another synth-riff, as well as a chorus that delivers and resonates, much in the same way as “Shell Games.”

The second half of the album appears to be more traditional. Upon listening to “A Machine Spiritual (In the People's Key)” and “Beginner's Mind” one will hear how Oberst reestablishes his grasp on the comfortable element of classic Bright Eyes songwriting. The type of songwriting that allowed listeners to become familiar with their most unconscious, in-depth ideas that were left unprovoked; Oberst says and sings much of what these listeners always had knowledge of or believed in. The type of lyrics that provided the basis for the relationship between listeners and Bright Eyes years ago.

Conor Oberst with Bright Eyes created a set of songs that are more intricately woven with the influences of general pop and rock, as opposed to the homogeneous, "Bob Dylanist" standing he had on some of the band's previous albums. Regardless, Bright Eyes has shown a sincere lack of lyrical predictability, as always, in their most recent release.