I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

by

Bright Eyes

Edit

So many of the negative reviews here seem to center around people's distaste for the media hype that surrounds this kid. What this has to do with the music he creates is of little relevance to me. I try and listen to music with an unbiased ear. It seems to me that most people came to this album with a certain prejudice, and that's a shame. Reading through these reviews makes me feel really out of touch with the pop music scene, and it also makes me glad that I am. I had never heard of Bright Eyes or Connor Oberst, and bought the cd because it showed up on my "amazon recommends" list. I had no real expectations for the cd, but I always "try to like" any cd that I spend my hard-earned money on. Well, I didn't have to try very hard to like it. The cd is full of beautiful songs. The lyrics, which have been described by some as "whiny," might not suit everyone's tastes, and that's fine. But thank God music is about more than lyrics, it's about how those lyrics fit into the context of the song and Connor O. seems to understand that concept. I understand the comparisons to Dylan, even if I don't fully agree with them (Gram Parsons might be a closer match - though Emmylou's voice might be influencing my ear in that comparison). There is a similarity to the way both Dylan and Oberst phrase their lyrics, and both employ lyrical metaphor to great effect. But the main similarity is that they both have a remarkable way of conveying raw emotion in seemingly simple songs.

In short, I generally read one-star and 5-star reviews with an extreme grain of salt so I was reluctant to give this cd a 5-star rating. However, it's the best cd I've bought in a long time and to give it anything less than 5 stars would be disingenous.

First off, the talent is unmistakable. The edgey, sharp lyrics produced a lot of "wow" moments for me. However, this album struck me the wrong way. It was arrogant and pretentious in a way hard to explain and I found myself getting more and more annoyed at the album as I listened.

In summary, this album is Ryan Adams-esque but it is a little too much. Maybe it was the war lyrics or the overall preaching nature of the work but there was something in it that I disliked. While I expect a complete masterpiece from Brighteyes in the future that I will love, this is not it.