2LP - BRIGHT EYES - FIVE DICE, ALL THREES

Five Dice, All Threes is a record of uncommon intensity and
tenderness, communal exorcism and personal excavation.
These are, of course, qualities that fans have come to
expect from Bright Eyes, nearly three decades into their
career. The tight-knit band of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis,
and Nate Walcott tends to operate in distinct sweeping
movements: each unique in its sound and story but unified
by a sense of ambition and ever-growing emotional stakes.
Even with this rich history behind them, these new songs
exude a visceral thrill like nothing they have attempted
before. Oberst has always sung in a voice that conveys a
sense of life-or-death gravity. At times throughout Five
Dice, All Threes, you may feel worried for him; other
times, he may seem like the only one with the clarity to
get us out of this mess. On the self-produced album,
Bright Eyes embrace the elusive quality that has made
them so enduring and influential across generations and
genres, bringing their homespun sound from an Omaha
bedroom to devoted audiences around the world. In
Oberst's songwriting lies a promise that our loneliest
thoughts and feelings can take on grander shapes when
passed between friends, blasted through speakers, or
shouted among crowds. This time around, the band invites
such like-minded voices onto the record with them, with
notable guest appearances from Cat Power ("All Threes"),
The National's Matt Berninger ("The Time I Have Left"),
and Alex Orange Drink, the frontman of the New York punk
band The So So Glos, who co-wrote several songs and
shares a climactic verse in the surging "Rainbow
Overpass." When they hit the studio with Oberst's longtime
bandmates_the multiinstrumentalist and producer Mike
Mogis, the keyboardist and arranger Nate Walcott_they
opted for a fast-paced approach that drew inspiration from
formative influences like The Replacements and Frank
Black. They sought textures that burst from the mix like
gnarly splashes of paint on a blank canvas; they opted for
first takes and spontaneous decisions. Five Dice, All Threes
thrashes and squirms and resists classification. In the
brilliant expanse of "El Capitan," they blend a galloping
rhythm you might find in a Johnny Cash standard with a
swell of funereal horns, shouted vocals, and lyrics that
read like a sobering farewell between twin souls. "So
they're burning you an effigy," Oberst sings. "Well, that
happens to me all the time!" For every striking turn in his
lyrics, the band knows just how to complement him. On
one level, Five Dice, All Threes may be the most fun album
in the Bright Eyes catalog, filled with singalong hooks and
buzzing performances. And yet, sitting alongside these
adrenalized rockers that sound beamed in directly from the
garage, you will find contemplative, psychedelic material
like the heartbreaking "Tiny Suicides" and "All Threes," a
song whose jazzy piano solo and free-associative lyrics feel
totally unprecedented in the Bright Eyes catalog. As per
usual, the music comes loaded with subtext that invites
deep listening_the signature touch of a band who has
always honored the album as its own exalted work of art.
In the game of threes, the titular move would indicate a
perfect roll. Perfection, however, means something
different in the world of Bright Eyes, where our flaws are
what grants us authority and finding meaning is only
possible if we bear witness to the dark, winding journey to
get there. On Five Dice, All Threes, Bright Eyes embrace
these beliefs with music that feels thrillingly alive, as if we
were all in the room with them, shouting along and gaining
the strength to move forward together. It doesn't just
sound like classic Bright Eyes. It sounds like their future,
too.
TRACKLISTING: 01. FIVE DICE 02. BELLS AND
WHISTLES 03. EL CAPITAN 04. BAS JAN ADER 05. TINY
SUICIDES 06. ALL THREES 07. RAINBOW OVERPASS
08. HATE 09. REAL FEEL 105° DISC #2: 01. SPUN OUT
02. TRAINS STILL RUN ON TIME 03. THE TIME I HAVE
LEFT 04. TIN SOLDIER BOY