7. Bright Eyes "Letting Off the Happiness"
Next to the Ugly Organ, Black Sheep Boy and Lycanthropy this is probably one of the most important albums to shaping my musical taste. When I first heard it. I wasn't really blown away but I did like it and would for awhile. It wasn't really the gateway album that got me into Bright Eyes but it did lead me to get into Patrick Wolf and the Microphones.
Now the album itself is sort of lo-fi folk but it's kind of all over the place. It's a much more creative release than anyone really gives it credit for but it's understandable when you look at Bright Eyes's less than credible fanbase. The album does start on its two weakest tracks but it quickly picks up with the enchanting Contrast and Compare to the sex anthem Pull My Hair to the Dylanesque June on the West Coast all the way to the almost Sea Shantyish closer Tereza and Tomas. One thing that stands out here is Conors extremely poetic lyrics verses like "Now that it's June, we’ll sleep out in the garden / And if it rains, we’ll just sink in to the mud / Where it is quiet and much cooler than the house is / And there is no clocks or phones to wake us up / Because I have learned that nothing is as pressing / As the one who is pressing would like you to believe / And I am content to walk a little slower / Because there is nowhere that I really need to be" are surprisingly poignant for a teenager who is screaming to be heard of crashing symbols, loud guitars and quirky electronics.
Letting Off the Happiness was recorded when Conor was only 18 and it's kind of surprising it's one of his strongest albums considering his young age and the fact he's released several albums following it most of which people consider better but I think the only one that comes near to touching this one is Fevers and Mirrors. It's my favorite album because I think Conor was at his lyrical best and while the vocals can be endearing at times it makes the lyrics seem all the more real and effective because it's clear he sure as hell means it. While Conor may have left his strumming and screaming in basements made of music a long time ago this album does remind us that sometimes the roots are better than the tree.
Favorite Songs: The Difference in the Shades, Contrast and Compare, A Poetic Retelling of an Unfortunate Seduction, June on the West Coast, Tereza and Tomas, Pull My Hair
MySpace.com - Bright Eyes - Omaha, Nebraska - Indie - www.myspace.com/brighteyes