Five Dice, All Threes

Description

Five Dice, All Threes is an album of uncommon intensity and tenderness, a communal exorcism and a personal excavation. These are qualities that fans have every right to expect from Bright Eyes, after three decades of career. The band, consisting of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott, tends to operate in distinct movements: each is unique in its sound and story, but unified by a sense of ambition and ever-growing emotional stakes. Even with this rich history behind them, these new songs exude a visceral thrill like nothing they have attempted before. On this self-produced album, Bright Eyes embraces the elusive quality that has made them so enduring and influential across generations and genres. This time, the band invites similar voices on the album, with notable appearances from Cat Power ("All Threes"), Matt Berninger of The National ("The Time I Have Left"), and Alex Orange Drink, the frontman of the New York punk band The So So Glos, who co-wrote several songs and shares a climactic verse on the energetic "Rainbow Overpass." In the studio, they opted for a quick approach inspired by formative influences such as The Replacements and Frank Black. They sought textures that burst from the mix like splashes of paint on a blank canvas; they went for first takes and spontaneous decisions. Five Dice, All Threes unleashes, writhes, and defies classification.