for atchoo: hope it helps though technically i haven't heard his sounds yet



Conor Oberst released his first album in 1994 at the age of 14, as lead singer and guitarist of the Omaha, Nebraska indie-punk group Commander Venus. He and his friends formed their own label, Saddle Creek, to release the record, and during the last nine years, Saddle Creek and Omaha have become the center of a rock movement. Though often lumped in with emo bands, Oberst and his Omaha peers have an even less definable style, though they draw from the same sources: the DIY ethos and refined aggression of '80s D.C. punk, and the diary-like openness of '90s indie rock. Fellow Commander Venus veterans Tim Kasher and Matt Bowen have carried the flag into such musically diverse acts as Cursive, The Good Life, and The Faint, but it was Oberst who became Omaha's semi-reluctant figurehead. Since taking on the moniker Bright Eyes, Oberst has written and recorded increasingly complicated, confessional folk songs, to which he's added elaborate orchestration. Last year, he wowed critics and fans with Bright Eyes' most accomplished record, Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground, as well as embarking on a new project with the noisier, more political Desaparecidos, which released its incendiary debut Read Music/Speak Spanish in 2002.

~Noel Murray, The Onion A.V. Club

my opinion: as long as he doesn't sound anything like the mouldy peaches, i'm okay. there's only so much of folk rock i can stomach. i'm guessing john mayer/ dashboard confessional lyrics meets a muted black flag. the folks at picthfork media give most of his EPs a thumbs-up so i think bright eyes can't be all that bad.