Once upon a time, Bright Eyes was a recording locomotive powered by the young, prodigious singer-songwriter Conor Oberst. They released eight LPs of diaristic, sometimes tortured folk in less than 10 years between 1998 and 2007. But age and experience brought Oberst down to earth, and his band (rounded out by multi-instrumentalists Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott) have slowed their pace. That air and space have served Bright Eyes well; 2020’s Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was (their comeback after a nine-year break) was lush, layered and emotionally loaded. Now, four years later, Five Dice, All Threes is not only similarly gorgeous and powerful, but also far more direct and visceral. Bright Eyes fans rejoice: Oberst is in peak form here, with detailed, exquisitely personal lyrics, and his vocals are stronger than ever. A bonus—Bright Eyes have rarely rocked so hard. Everything kicks off with “Bells and Whistles,” a rollicking, rumbling and ramshackle rocker with a catchy, whistled melody to boot. Oberst’s storytelling is perfectly on display—shaking hands with fans, making a U-turn in a limousine, navigating his own wild life. Bright Eyes call in help from some A-list friends on Five Dice; Cat Power’s haunting coo lifts the slow-burning “All Threes” into a hazy, mysterious wonder. The National’s Matt Berninger guests on the aching piano ballad “The Time I Have Left.” Five Dice, All Threes capitalizes on all of Bright Eyes’ strengths— properly capturing the sound of a band live in a room, while never sacrificing their studio-wizardry (chopped up samples and tons of instruments float through) and Oberst’s esoteric, hyper-detailed lyrics. Three decades in, Bright Eyes is once again on a roll.
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