Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

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Free Music Notes for Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

Free Music Review: Utterly incredible
Hit: 5 Stars

"The Big Picture" opens the album. Many have criticised this song, with its demo-y feel and lack of direction or focused tune, but it is raw emotion from Oberst, a stream-of-consciousness that has to be understood. Its not perfect but its not meant to be. "Method Acting" is a much more coherant opener of what is the main album, and its an excellent introduction to the more usual Bright Eyes sound. With typically weary-but-hopeful lyrics, chiming guitars worthy of Johnny Marr and effective backing-vocal arrangements, its a really excellent piece. "False Advertising" follows - a grand ballad with a waltz-time rhythm and a lush string-filled orchestration.

"You Will" is a folksy number in the vein of numerous classic singer-songwriters, but updated. The numerous comparisons to Dylan for Oberst are somewhat unfounded in terms of actual style or voice but there's something that unites them in spirit perhaps. "Lover I Don't Have To Love" is a total contrast, with an gritty urban menace to it with its brooding bassline, sinister bell-sound and lyrics that describe not ideal love but sexual lust removed entirely from romance. Still Oberst puts the subject in a very eloquent and meaningful way and it includes some brilliant lines like "Love's an excuse to get hurt/And to hurt/Do you like to hurt/I do, I do, then hurt me". The strings on this track are used incredible. Its not a ballad or even an optimistic track but brooding cellos pepper the verse while staccato, rhythmic pounding of the strings in the chorus shows that you don't have to use overdriven guitars to pack a musical punch. This is probably the most instantly appealing and immediate track.

We get another contrast with "Bowl Of Oranges", an upbeat folky strumalong with melodic piano and some of the most wonderfully upbeat lyrics ever, not in the slightest cheesy but touching and beautiful. Again the arrangement is right on par with brilliant horns and drums. This gives way for the sparse "Don't Know When But A Day Is Going To Come", which perhaps tops the whole album lyrically speaking, with not a word that doesn't stun the listener. I could quote lines but it would do it injustice, you must hear the whole thing. Simple guitar adorns a repetitive melody for a sparse and chilling arrangement, which gives way occasionally to an unusual, somewhat discordant break.

"Nothing Gets Crossed Out" is a really beautiful little indie song with a lovely tunes and really perfect female backing vocals, again brilliant lyrics. This one reminds me a lot of the Scottish indiepop band Belle and Sebastian - it has this twee but touching and beautiful sound to it - its been taken up by a bunch of American bands. Its a really aching and truly wonderful track. "Make War" takes a country-ish tack, an interesting varient on the formula though its not my favourite track. "Waste of Paint" (along with "The Big Picture") is the kind of track that gets Oberst his reputation for angsty lyrics and perfunctory strumming - which isnt always true - however despite the quite obvious angst the lyrics are still phrased wonderfully in a great storytelling style and thought the arrangement is not as impressive as usual the simple acoustic guitar works well with the track.

"From A Balance Beam" is a jaunty pop song that starts and stops with a heavenly arrangement featuring what sounds like a harp - yet again the lyrics are excellent. "Laura Laurent" is the second track which is very country-ish, with that Nashville-ish whining guitar. Again, its not my favourite but its a chilled and relaxing ballad. Finally we have "Let's Not S*** Ourselves" which is intended as the epic climax to an epic album, it features a somewhat silly, country-rock-grunge-folk-pop-indie hybrid, but its endearingly so and its uplifting and puts a smile on your face. And guess what - the lyrics are rather good.

This album is a much for anyone who enjoys ambitious music and thoughtful, incisive lyrics littered with classic lines and thoughts. The lyrics really complement the music and the voice and though I've gone on and on about lyrics they really are utterly incredible. Please ignore the people that say this is a mixed bag - it is not to be missed. Oberst is an indie hero and the greatest lyricist of our generation - no hyperbole - this is the stuff.

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