One of Conor Oberst’s less questionable releases, yes, but the Saddle Creek sovereign’s latest collection of songs lacks that indefinable essence of Oberst that has graced previous albums, questionable or not.
First single ‘Four Winds’ – although uncannily reminiscent of a Waterboys track – captures Oberst’s signature lyricism with musings like ‘Now it’s off to old Dakota where a genocide sleeps’. But, true to the entire album, it’s not the stuff that’s likely to induce a philosophical awakening in the wee hours, which we’ve come to expect from Bright Eyes.
Elsewhere, ‘Cleanse Song’ and ‘I Must Belong Somewhere’ sound a little better conceived, like easy extensions of 2005’s ‘I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning’. And not forgetting ‘Hot Knives’, an ode to fidelity and spiritual rebirth that sets itself to be hailed as one of the band’s countless gems of honest storytelling.
Maybe Conor Oberst is growing up, maybe Bright Eyes has turned a corner in song composition, or perhaps ‘Cassadaga’ is the inevitable product of a major record label deal. Whilst ‘The Sun’ champions the album, you’ll find many more young fans that will take a cynical stance towards the latter. Whatever the change has been, it’s evident; But I’m not too naïve to recognise that artists change and Oberst is undoubtedly a musical chameleon. Give me a couple of years and I’d bet my entire Bright Eyes collection (‘A Christmas Album’ and all) that I’ll regard ‘Cassadaga’ as a classic, not least for the spectacular artwork, which is entertainment enough in itself.