Conor Oberst out of Key on latest from Bright Eyes

Something's not quite right with Conor Oberst.

The point man behind Bright Eyes established himself as a legend in the indie scene when he self released his debut album at the age of 14 and piloted his own record label from the ground up.

Since then Oberst has watched his profile steadily rise, peaking with arguably his greatest work with 2005's I'm Wide Awake It's Morning. After nearly two decades, there is talk that the band's latest release, The People's Key, may be it's last.

If that's so, it's a real shame. The People's Key is far from being a good album.

 Bright Eyes has historically been known for Oberst's folksy, singer/songwriter, roots style approach. The new LP abandons that in favor of a more alternative vein, emphasizing the sound of the band as a whole. In the process he's managed to rip out everything that made Bright Eyes what it is.

It's risky business for an artist to dramatically alter their musical makeup. Radiohead showed it could work by whitewashing their Brit-rock roots on Kid A. More recently, Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest demonstrated how to mold a simpler, pop-based song structure while still keeping the core elements of their sound intact.

The People's Key, on the other hand, quite simply lacks the power, emotion, and immediacy heard in the band's prior works  The first thing that jumps out is the lack of distinctive melodies; most songs are carried along by the same recycled bouncy beat, supplemented by keyboards.

The lead single, "Shell Games," is the catchiest tune on disc, making it a sure highlight. "Triple Spiral" is alright too, I suppose.

Periodically throughout the disc you'll hear from a narrator who sounds like a slightly more intelligent version of Randy from My Name is Earl. He has some interesting things to say, but suffers from being too wordy and takes too long to get to his point.

And that's perhaps the problem with the lyrics on this album in general. As always, Mr. Oberst has some great words to share, but you have to dig for it. Whereas on earlier material he's made a point of setting a scene or creating a mood much more immediately.

Compare what you get to here to the soul baring confession of "First Day of My Life," or the sense of urgency on "At the Bottom of Everything," both from I'm Wide Awake It's Morning.

For that matter, take a glimpse at the opening of "Four Winds," the lead single from 2007's Cassadaga:

"Your class, your caste, your country, sect, your name or your tribe
There is people always dying trying to keep them alive."

A knockout political salvo in just two lines. And catchy as hell too.

If there is one song that comes close to recapturing Oberst's glory it is "Ladder Song," near the album's close. The lonely piano and haunted vocal immediately evoke a feeling of desolation and loss, and stands out above most everything else on the disc.

The People's Key is certainly listenable and not a bad effort per se, but there isn't much redeeming about it. It's not about the shift in sound for me. Bright Eyes is a band perfectly capable of pulling off the alternative vibe; they just didn't nail it here.

Next time I'll take catchier melodies and ACTUALLY showing a sense of emotion, please and thank you.

Score: 65/100

Iron & Wine shows off sense of groove with Kiss Each Other Clean

Genre: Folk/Alternative
Warner Bros.
Running Time: 44:06

Nearing the end of February, we find ourselves at a bit of a crossroads.

January seemed to be a month of change; several artists, including Cage the Elephant and The Decemberists, released records that were significantly different to their previous albums, while the month of March is filled to the brim with exciting and noteworty releases.

February, on the other hand, was mostly devoid of anything I care about, for the most part. Radiohead put out another buzzworthy release, as they often tend to do, but with not much on the horizon it seems like an opportune time to review a favorite recent release of mine that I haven't had time to get around to lately.

Samuel Beam of Iron & Wine has long been known as a guru of folk music, but Kiss Each Other Clean sees the singer/songwriter attempting to expand his palette a bit. There's a distinctly less folk/acoustic feel on this album, and going in I suppose that's what I was expecting. You know, something along the lines of Bright Eyes.

But Beam has often incorporated more of an urban/groove type influence into his tunes, and nothing makes that more evident than Kiss Each Other Clean. The opener, "Walking Far From Home" threw me for a loop right away with the distorted vocal in the opening.

If cuts like "The Trapeze Swinger" and "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" were designed to make your girl get all weepy and starry eyed, many of the offerings found here are crafted to make her get down and shake her booty.

Just listen to the funky horn part on "Big Burned Hand" and tell me you don't want to get down. But fans of earlier Iron & Wine releases will still find much to like here. The album still contains Beam's fantastic sense of songwriting, which includes great lyrics.

"Tree by the River" seems Beam reminiscing to an earlier time with an earlier love, something that many people can easily relate to. However, most of his lyrics don't really focus on anything concrete; they're based more upon creating a dazzling sense of imagery.

Vocal wise, Beam has always had a tenderness to his voice that I've always found to be one of the main appeals of Iron & Wine, and that is still present here. I suppose the main reason why I like this album is because of the great sense of melody combined with clever and intelligent lyricism.  

Kiss Each Other Clean does have more of an alternative/groove type feel than maybe some of his previous works, but Iron & Wine fans can rejoice that Beam is still putting out the type of music we have all grown to know and love.

Score: 85/100