Aug 31, 2024 Can't stop myself from writing about this album. So, in order to not sway the ratings with my very bias opinions, I'll refrain from giving a score but will post a cheeky writeup of what my thoughts on this are exactly. Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground is an album of great importance not only for the band, the frontman, or for their fans. This is a widely influential record that shaped how a decade of indie music following it sounded, from the painfully honest and beautiful writing, to instrumental arrangements and song structures. These influences can be observed even today with popular indie folk acts such as Phoebe Bridgers on her stellar record Punisher. Lifted was a follow through to two, in my opinion, excellent records: Letting Off The Happiness (1998), and Fevers and Mirrors (2000). It is the culmination of the band's ambitious attempts at creating music that is so turned inward, narcissistic and vainglorious, yet utterly haunted by its own anxieties and troubles. The two previous records presented a completely different sound; they rejected the polished, as a review here earlier said, chamber pop sound, and proudly wallowed in the demented, yet unapologetic lyrics penned by Oberst who, in his early twenties, sounded like he had more trauma than someone who had survived nazi persecution during the Second World War. Lifted, though, is way different. Despite the recurring motiffs of Bright Eyes music making a return here the same way they will on their new record that is set to release in twenty days, this project displays a notion of happiness, or as it is portrayed throughout the record: light, being attainable to those who are willing to seek it. I see this as a way for the frontman to detest everything he stood for on his two previous records that I've mentioned. If one is to be ''Lifted'' and achieve the end goal of claiming victory over his internal weaknesses, he must take action: ''And there is nothing I know, except this lifetime is one moment And wishing will just leave me empty'' This concept is repeated throughout, but not in a way where it overpowers the other, significant, themes on the record. From songs about the music industry and how it manipulates and damages the artist's self, to deeply tortured love songs that reek of the mentioned selfishness, such as: You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will. and Lover I Don't Have to Love which is actually the track I come back to the least on here. Perhaps this album can feel a tad like a lecture sometimes, with the subject at hand flickering from self-fulfilment to the geopolitical state of the world in the post 9/11 age. I like lectures from people I respect, and Oberst is able to earn my respect over the course of this album. It's certainly an album which improves if you avoid multi-tasking as it plays. You'll notice me mentioning how selfish, egoistical, and self-centered the writing on here is. One may look at it as a flaw or find it obnoxious, but I find it genius and consider it an another layer because the ''protagonist'', despite his narcissistic take on artistry and the world in general, finds himself enthralled by the simple things that are far outweighed by these ambitious ponderances and questions he has about the world on some other tracks: ''The last few months I've been living with this couple Yeah, you know the kind who buy everything in doubles Yeah, they fit together like a puzzle I love their love, and I am thankful That someone actually receives the prize that was promised By all those fairy tales that drugged us And still do me, I'm sick, lonely No laurel tree, just green envy Will my number come up eventually? Like love's some kind of lottery Where you scratch and see what's underneath It's sorry, just one cherry I'll play again, get lucky'' There's a lot of songs on Lifted (maybe even all of them) that would deserve a special mention in a true track-by-track breakdown fashion if one wanted to go through that route - while it's a diverse and positively rambling album, the songs themselves are powerfully focused even as they go through their twists and turns, with some of Oberst's all-time best writing present throughout. "Waste of Paint" might be the ultimate barebones man-and-guitar moment of his and vividly shows how grippingly charismatic he is as a narrator with no kitchen sinks behind him, and likewise the explosive meta-level scene-setter "Method Acting" is among Bright Eyes' most stormingly fierce fireballs as Oberst breaks down the fourth wall and invites his band to come along; the brightly rollicking "Bowl of Oranges", the delicate and tender "Nothing Gets Crossed Out" and the anthemic "From a Balance Beam" meanwhile showcase the strengths of his more evocative and softer songwriting. Everything is deeply resonant, intimate and impassioned, as Oberst and his tagalong crew perform like their lives depended on it, as if there was only every one chance of capturing all this on tape before everything fades to black (the constant hints of apocalypse appearing across a number of songs admittedly colouring that thought). Nowhere is that more apparent than on "Let's Not s--- Ourselves (To Love and Be Loved)", the appropriately epic closer for an album this massive, flicking the dial up one more notch for one last time. Across a little over ten minutes Oberst spits out a litany of thoughts from unadornedly political (stripping down the album's poetry to blunt vitriol) to deeply personal, brief instrumental breaks allowing him to catch his breath before he goes on another extended rant before closing the album with something that vaguely feels like a morsel of hard-earned hope. If on Fevers and Mirrors Oberst acted like he was playing a role for an audience that wanted that character to be real, a lot of Lifted comes across unashamedly personal and true, thought whether it is or not is left open given how vague Oberst has been about the autobiographical factuality of his earlier works in particular. "Let's Not s--- Ourselves", though, is the ultimate celebration of this newfound emotional honesty, and I do mean a celebration - though its heart burns with fiery anger and bears itself vulnerably naked all the same, musically it's the final come-together for everyone to rejoice in gleeful abandon, raising one last glass before that aforementioned apocalypse happens. It's phenomenal, definitive, absolutely superlative. I will stop myself cause this has gone into the territory of relentless yapping, but I will add some of my favorite lines on the backend of this: On Laura Laurent (track 12) ''Now, you don't even bother to ride that commuter train west to Chicago, to stroll through the greenery, in the park, past the statues. How their eyes seemed to follow you like a hated addiction. Their beauty carved out of absolutes that you could never claim, or even envision. Laura you were the saddest song in the shape of a woman. I thought you were beautiful, but I wept with your movements. Bowl of Oranges (track 6) But if the world could remain within a frame like a painting on a wall. Then I think we would see the beauty, Then we would stand staring in awe Make War (track 9) Well, now, I tell myself I've mended under these patches of blue sky. There are still a few holes that let in a little rain. And so it is crying on my shingles. My floorboards moan under my feet. The refrigerator is whining, so I've got reason to complain.'' Let's Not s--- Ourselves (To Love and to Be Loved) (Track 13) ''Now a mother takes loans out, sends her kids off to colleges. Her family's reduced to names on a shopping list. While, a coroner kneels beneath a great, wooden crucifix. He knows there's worse things than being alone. And so I've learned to retreat at the first sign of danger. I mean, why wait around, if it's just to surrender?'' ... ''As they take eye for an eye until no one can see, we must stumble blindly forward, repeating history. Well, I guess we all fit into your slogan on the fast food marquee: Red blooded, White skinned oh and the Blues'' ... ''But where was it when I first heard a sweet sound of humility? It came to my ears in the g.d. loveliest melody. How grateful I was then to be part of the mystery, to love and to be loved. Let's just hope that is enough.'' Classic. Sorry about the yap, couldn't help myself. Edit: apologized for the yap then proceeded to add a whole another paragraph of it.
Aug 31, 2024 @AOTWClub Idk how I went so far knowing about Bright Eyes and Connor Oberst separately and not realizing he's the lead singer of the band lol. To get it out if the way, I f---in love this album but it's kind of a lot pacing wise and lyrically to have on repeat as much as I'd like to. I feel like there's not much I can add to the conversation cause all the people that enjoyed it were basically saying the same things as me. Although I guess I could bring up some of my favorite songs lyrically! The Big Pictures critique of religion really stuck with me immediately, it's not like it hasn't been touched on by a million bands and artists before but the way it's written about here is really gutwrenching to me for some reason. My second favorite song lyrically is Don't Know When But A Day Is Gonna Come, again it's more of a broad commentary on multiple things but my favorite piece of it lyrically is: "Now men with purple hearts carry silver guns And they'll k--- a man for what his father's done But what my father did, you know it don't mean s--- I'm not him But it's hard to ignore all the news reports They say we must defend ourselves, fight on foreign soil Against the infidels, with the oil wells God saves gas prices" I could go on and on but I'll leave it off there On first listen I had to get used to Connors voice but after that I was completely fine with it, I like a ton of voices like his in other music that's obviously inspired by him so I just had to get used to a new flavor of that. Favorite Songs: The Big Picture, You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will., Bowl Of Oranges, Don't Know When But A Day Is Gonna Come, Let's Not s--- Ourselves This score has the easy potential to be higher on repeat listens but for now.. ALBUM RATING: 8.5/10
Aug 31, 2024 Knew people wouldn’t mess with his voice but it’s personal preference it either works for you or not. Man’s the omaha k.dot
Aug 31, 2024 No s--- though, once those whiney b-----a--- voices click for you, you’re pretty much equipped to enjoy any genre lol
Aug 31, 2024 I have been accustomed to the hardest genres to get into (Country (the good artists), Heavy electronic s--- like Breakcore, Midwest Emo, Metalcore) I am almost the music Avatar, I just need to get used to the f----- up metal subgenres
Aug 31, 2024 I’ll listen to pretty much anything but those randomass metal subgenre dudes got sum else going on
Aug 31, 2024 @AOTWClub When it was announced that the album would be emo, I expected something more in the vein of Simple Plan or Blink 182. Although I'm not a fan of those bands, I likely would have preferred that style over this. The singer's shaky voice didn’t sit well with me, and I have to agree that it sounds like a highschool kid and it made me cringe at times. The album has some country vibes to it and I found some of those parts nice. It has some good song writing but overall this album is not for my taste, but it's not the worse i've heard. 5/10
Aug 31, 2024 Yeah those are in the more emo parts of pop punk instead of the emo parts of indie music, two very different vibes lol. Also CRINGE Blink-182 slaps
Aug 31, 2024 I like how you keep track of all your ratings, I should have done the same. Although, my average rating is likely lower than yours, given that I’m pretty selective with my music choices lol
Aug 31, 2024 I see so THAT'S the type of emo s--- I enjoy, not exactly blink 182 but similar.. MCR counts?
Aug 31, 2024 Lots of ties 1. Americana - 8.7 2. 4Eva is a Mighty Long Time - 8.5 3. Smoke clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 - 7.5 4. ORPHEUS vs. The Sirens - 7.5 5. Laugh Now, Cry Later - 7.5 6. Kings of Crunk - 7.5 7. Big Conspiracy - 7.2 8. Clivia Demo - 7 9. The Death of Slim Shady - 6 10. Mid Air - 6 11. Melodrama - 5 12. Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil - 5 13. All My Heroes Are Cornballs - 3 Average score: 6.64
Aug 31, 2024 Yeah MCR is emo in the punk way for sure. I would argue that depending on if you're talking about The Black Parade you can also argue that it's more theatrically emo like a Panic! At The Disco but obviously much more concept and rock opera forward in the vein of Queen
Aug 31, 2024 JANK ALBUMS RANKING. 1. Lorde - Melodrama/Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground 8.5/10 2. Hermit & The Recluse - Orpheus vs The Sirens 8/10 3. Jpegmafia - ALL MY HEROES ARE CORNBALLS 8/10 4. Eminem - TDOSS 8/10 5. Clairo - Sling 8/10 6. Big K.R.I.T. - 4eva is a Mighty Long Time 7.5/10 7.J Hus - Big Conspiracy 7.5/10 8. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son 7.3/10 9. Paris Texas - MID AIR 7.3/10 10. The Offspring - Americana 7/10 11. Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz - Kings Of Crunk 7/10 12. Three 6 Mafia - When Smoke Clears 6.5/10 13. Ice Cube - Laugh Now, Cry Later 6/10 AVERAGE RATING 7.3/10
