Bright Eyes

Anyone still confused as to what differentiates Bright Eyes‘ music from Conor Oberst’s music should watch this interview with MTV’s John Norris in which our young troubadour explains, as well as discusses the new solo album’s recording in Mexico

Conor’s album Conor Oberst is released on August 5th and is available now for streaming from conoroberst.com and mergerecords.com. (The Merge Records site also has some FREE downloads from artists M. Ward, Wye Oak and Destroyer.  Yay!)

Conor Oberst announces his first set of dates in support of his upcoming solo album Conor Oberst (August 5th in US (Merge Records) and August 4th in UK (Wichita Records)).

Conor also launches his new website today. The website exclusively streams two tracks from his soon-to-be-released album – “Souled Out!!!” and “Danny Callahan“. To keep abreast of Conor Oberst’s goings-on visit the new website.

Tour dates in full:

07/16/08 Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Studio SP
07/17/08 Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Studio SP
07/18/08 Santiago, Chile @ Cine Arte Normandie,
07/19/08 Buenos Aires, Argentina @ La Trastienda
07/25/08 Billings, MT @ Bones Brewing*
07/27/08 Calgary, AB @ Calgary Jazz Festival, Prince’s Island Park
07/29/08 Vancouver, BC @ Richard’s On Richards Cabaret<
07/30/08 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s<
07/31/08 Bend, OR @ Midtown Ballroom<
08/01/08 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill<
08/02/08 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom or the Hill<
08/03/08 Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre<
08/05/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubador<
08/08/08 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge**
08/09/08 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle**
08/10/08 Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa**
08/11/08 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero**
08/12/08 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom**
08/17/08 Saratoga, NY @ Saratoga Music Festival^
08/22/08 Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
08/23/08 Birmingham, UK @ Academy 2
08/24/08 Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
08/26/08 Portsmouth, UK @ Wedgewood Rooms
08/27/08 London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
08/28/08 Manchester, UK @ Academy 2
08/29/08 Inveraray Castle, Scotland @ Hydro Connect Music Festival
08/30/08 Belfast, Ireland @ Spring and Airbrake
08/31/08 County Laois, Ireland @ Stradbally Hall / Electric Picnic
09/02/08 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
09/03/08 Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique
09/04/08 Luxembourg, @ Den Atelier
09/05/08 Zurich, Switzerland @ Rote Fabrik
09/07/08 Munich, Germany @ Backstage Werk
09/08/08 Zagreb, Croatia @ Studenski
09/09/08 Vienna, Austria @ Arena
09/10/08 Prague, Czech Republic
09/11/08 Berlin, Germany @ Columbia Club
09/12/08 Cologne, Germany @ Gloria
09/13/08 Paris, France @ Nouveau Casino
09/14/08 Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/20/08 Omaha, NE @ Anchor Inn
09/21/08 Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium%
09/23/08 Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge%
09/24/08 Oxford, MS @ The Lyric%
09/25/08 Tulsa, TX @ Cain’s Ballroom%
09/27/08 Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
10/02/08 Melbourne, AUS @ The Palace
10/03/08 Brisbane, AUS @ Tivoli
10/04/08 Sydney, AUS @ Enmore
10/05/08 Sydney, AUS @ Great Escape

* w/ A Weather
< w/ Dri
** w/ Evangelicals
^ w/Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, The Swell Season, Gillian Welch, Steve Earle & Raul Malo
% w/ Jenny Lewis

PS: See that? Jenny Lewis is opening! Her new album’s on the way!

We’re really excited about this! Conor Oberst has announced plans to release a solo album, his first for 13 years, on the very brilliant Merge Records in August. The album, titled Conor Oberst. The recording was made in Tepoztlán, Morelos, México during the months of January and February 2008. In Tepoztlán, a place known for Aztec Magic and Extra-Terrestrial Sightings, a temporary studio was created in a mountain villa called Valle Místico at the outskirts of town. It was produced by Conor Oberst with much help from engineer and long time associate Andy LeMaster. A special band was assembled for the recording, known amongst themselves and to friends as The Mystic Valley Band. It was there at Valle Místico that Conor and the band lived and worked for that time in near perfect harmony, often unaware of the hour or the day. The result is his first solo album in thirteen years, following Water (1993), Here’s To Special Treatment (1994) and Soundtrack To My Movie (1995). In that time he has recorded and performed in many bands and musical projects including Commander Venus, Park Ave., Desaparecidos, and most notably Bright Eyes, his main musical vehicle for the past decade.

Conor Oberst will be touring this album throughout the summer and has already announced an appearance at September’s Austin City Limits festival.

Track List in full:

1. Cape Cañaveral 7. Eagle On A Pole
2. Sausalito 8. Moab
3. Get-Well-Cards 9. NYC – Gone, Gone
4. Lenders In The Temple 10. Valle Místico (Ruben’s Song)
5. Danny Callahan 11. Souled Out!!!
6. I Don’t Want To Die (In The Hospital) 12. Milk Thistle

Live shows for Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band:

8/22 Leeds Festival - England
8/24 Reading Festival -England
8/31 Electric Picnic - County Laois, Ireland
9/27 ACL Music Festival -Austin, TX

Our friend Andrew Kuo has recently been doing some of his “rock graphs” (for want of a better word) for the New York Times.You might have seen his “7 days of Bright Eyes at Town Hall” uber-graph last year. We like to check them out on Sunday mornings before coffee…it can make for a confusing and hilarious few minutes. Kuo’s two favorite bands are also two of our favorite bands – Animal Collective and Vampire Weekend -although we’re not mathematically-minded enough to explain how much we like them in flow chart form. Kuo’s the only guy who has that particular gift. Check it out here.

Posted by: CW