Bright Eyes - Fevers & Mirrors
(Saddle Creek)
When Sebadoh started sounding more "modern rock," it was sort of a sign that
Lou Barlow had ran out of ideas. His songs became more and more metaphorical
and almost meaningless. While you can't really say Conor Oberst's (aka "Jeff
Mangum at 19") new album, Fevers and Mirrors, has become "modern rock," it
certainly is a lot less unobjectionable than his previous songs. In
turn, his music seems to have lost a lot of its emotion and, thus, meaning.
Bright Eyes' previous works were always hit and miss. The music behind some
of the songs was sometimes far too simplistic to be worth anything, and deeply
personal lyrics are almost by definition hit and miss--either you relate or you
don't. Also, some people are turned off by his strained flutter of a voice
that becomes even more strained and more fluttered as he sings with more power,
volume, and emotion. Fevers and Mirrors seems to be a lot more even though,
in music, lyrics, and voice. Much more effort seems to have been put into the
music. Layers, flutes, harmony, each song seems to be well orchestrated instead
of simply put together. Conor seems to have spent a lot more time on the lyrics
for this album, as well, creating involved imagery, convoluted metaphors,
and, wow, rhyming verses.
Screw all that though. The album comes off like high school poetry. What
the hell happened to the high school diary entries from his previous albums?
A Bright Eyes album is fairly worthless if it can't make you feel what Conor
was feeling when he wrote the songs. "A line allows progress, a circle does
not" from the Every Day and Every Night EP or "Padraic my Prince" from Letting
off the Happiness are so overflowing with emotion you can't help but get
involved with the songs, despite the simplistic arrangements. But all the
blandly done Archer Prewitt/Eric Matthews-style 70s pop orchestration in the
world can't save these songs of Fevers & Mirrors from being one big contrived
yawn.
What a shame to have run out of ideas at 19. Hopefully, it's momentary.
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