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Who shaped them

Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes

Since 1995 · United States

Conor Oberst began recording as Bright Eyes as a teenager in Omaha, releasing a stream of increasingly ambitious lo-fi records through the independent label Saddle Creek before reaching a commercial and critical peak in 2005, when Bright Eyes released two albums simultaneously… Their story

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Who they shaped

Behind them, left to right: Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith, Townes Van Zandt, The Replacements.

In front, left to right: Phoebe Bridgers, Waxahatchee.

The bigger the face, the stronger the proof: they said it themselvesreporteda critic, or widely accepted

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning cover

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I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2005)

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Recorded with a rotating cast of guest musicians including Emmylou Harris, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning leans into pedal steel and acoustic arrangements more fully than any previous Bright Eyes record, giving Oberst's quavering voice a warmer, more countryish frame. "First Day of My Life" pairs a plainly stated love song with just acoustic guitar and strings, one of the most unguarded moments in his catalog. "Landlocked Blues" turns political frustration into something closer to a duet, trading verses with Harris. It's the record where Oberst's Dylan-indebted songwriting found its most settled, fully realized form.

Sleeve notes

Bright Eyes

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning · 2005

Conor Oberst began recording as Bright Eyes as a teenager in Omaha, releasing a stream of increasingly ambitious lo-fi records through the independent label Saddle Creek before reaching a commercial and critical peak in 2005, when Bright Eyes released two albums simultaneously: the electronic-leaning Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and the folk-oriented I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, both entering the Billboard charts the same week.

Oberst's lyrics, delivered in a quavering, emotionally raw voice, moved between political anger, romantic devastation, and religious doubt, drawing explicit inspiration from 1970s singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons, and Townes Van Zandt. Bright Eyes remained Oberst's primary vehicle through the 2000s alongside a prolific solo career and other projects, and I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning in particular is widely considered the clearest distillation of his folk-influenced songwriting.

Since 1995 · United States