CD of The Week

Bright Eyes - Five Dice, All Threes (Dead Oceans)

For over 25 years, Conor Oberst has been making music under the Bright Eyes name, with cohorts and multi-instrumentalists Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott coming aboard in the mid-00s. Five Dice, All Threes is the 11th Bright Eyes album, as Oberst continues to mine his wordy mind for his unique indie rock sound.

Five Dice, All Threes opens with a mix of random samples and TV bits before the album begins for real with the jaunty single "Bells and Whistles," which yes, contains a lot of actual whistling. Oberst shambles around New York City through the song and provides a wise piece of advice that "you shouldn't place bets on the New York Mets.”

On the intense, galloping “El Capitan,” the end is neigh and the earth is doomed, as Oberst laments the fate of the Golden State, singing, “The world is on fire, California is a crucible / We're running out of water, they already stole all the gold.” The slow-burning “Hate” finds him venting about the religions of the world. And amidst the darkness, Oberst asks on “Bas Jan Ader,” “I never thought I’d see 45 / How is it that I’m still alive?”

Multiple guest stars contribute to the new album, with the great Cat Power showing up on the brooding “All Threes,” a track where Oberst apparently fantasizes about killing Elon Musk over a dice game at one point? The sparse, dark “The Time I Have Left” is a duet with The National’s Matt Berninger and the rocking “Rainbow Overpass” is a collaboration with Alex Orange Drink of The So So Glos.

Bright Eyes has always piled on the extra instrumentation on their best songs – the project has been more than just Oberst and an acoustic guitar for years. On Five Dive, All Threes, you never know what sonic curveball is going to pop up. There are random samples mixed in, plus mariachi horns, banjos, and even DJ scratching on “Spun Out.”

Five Dice, All Threes isn’t much of a gamble for Bright Eyes, as it gives you the ramshackle mix of sounds you expect from the band: Oberst’s verbose lyrics, a mountain of analog instrumentation, and left-field samples. It all piles up but never totally overwhelms the basic foundations of what has made them stand out over the years.

Bright Eyes are slated to return to Philadelphia at The Met next year on April 19th.

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Review by Joey O.