Bright Eyes
"A Christmas Album"
2002
Saddle Creek

2.32/5 Stars
Consensus:Bright Eyes is a great band, and went on to release other great albums. This isn't one of their great albums. Although it has one or two songs that are really good everything else you have to sit through is so monotonous and dreary its not worth it. Bright Eyes, as an indie/hipster band, is always gonna stand out one way or another. The whole album feels like they tried SO hard to stand out that they just ended up being irritating, not interesting or creative. Overall this album is awful. I recommend getting the singles on iTunes and sparing the pain of the rest of the album. That said the money from this album goes to a good cause, Nebraska AIDS, so if you do end up buying it, don't beat yourself up.

1)Away In A Manger: The vocalists sound like scared children performing in front of a big crowd for the first time at choir recital. Its pathetic, and irritating. The attempted mumble/sing over the classic carol is just irritating. It gets slightly better around the 2nd verse but random ambient noises in the background disrupt/ruin the experience. Its just annoying. *1/2

2)Blue Christmas: A total contrast to the first song, this sounds like the Bright Eyes I'm used to listening to. This is a fantastic cover of the original song with all the twangy folksy indie twists you'd expect from a group like Bright Eyes. ****

3)Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem: This song is in a key too high for the singer, Conor Oberst. As a result he sounds strained and flat throughout the song. The song does include a nice use of horns which adds a lot, but that is quickly taken away by more strange and unnecessary ambient noises towards the end. **

4)God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: This rebounds again with a very solid and jazzy sound from the group. It has a lovely inclusion of cello in the song which adds quite a bit to the overall effect. This sounds like the indie/folk cover of a Christmas song one would hope for from a band like Bright Eyes. It has a solid back beat, its not so experimental that it takes away from the original cover, but has a nice flare to it that is distinctly unique. ****

5)The First Noel: This version of the classic carol is drugged out and boring you can hardly recognize it. Its almost as if Bright Eyes is trying SO hard to be SO different and stand outish they lose the taste of what the original song is and all musicianship. They come again with ambient noises in the back ground and mumble singing in a mildly flat and melancholy manner, which is great and all if you're writing you're own moody song about politics or girls or dragons or whatever, but when it comes to Christmas carols, especially ones that are intended to be happy and upbeat... it just doesn't work. For me at least. I did however really like the twangy guitar effects in the back ground so it had some redeeming value. **

6)The Little Drummer Boy: The song starts with light piano and drummers and... distorted singing. Its ok but, again, it doesn't make a lot of sense in context of what they're singing. The song is listenable but not great. Some double time drums thrown in at the end makes the song a lot better for wear. ***

7)White Christmas: The vocals are nice and clear on this one. Its very relaxing and makes for great background music. But its nothing to get super excited for. Short sweet and to the point. ***1/2

8)Silent Night: More frustrating ambient guitar with a bajillion effects on it that remind me of an explosion in a bad b movie. Coupled with moody mumble singing and extra ambient noises at the end make this song miserable and boring. *

9)Silver Bells: The group seems to be leaning more towards traditional caroling in this piece. Group vocals are always pleasing to me and this song comes together nicely. There is a euphoric and appealing edge to the song that makes it worth the listen, even if it does retain some of the odd ambiance of the rest of the album. ***

10)Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas: This song again sounds like a really bad recital you went to for your cousin or niece or nephew, maybe even a younger sibling.You know, the special Christmas one you sat through for them, because you love them, and the whole time you're sitting in your chair wondering whether you should just leave or work up the courage to lie to them about how wonderful they did. You end up lying of course and telling the poor little kid how great they did and how proud of them you are etc etc. But really you wanted to rip your ear drums out and get addicted to tar heroin rather than sit through another stupid minute of the brat's recital. That's how I feel about this song, except I don't have to lie.  Conor Oberst sounds like he is about to pee his pants he's so scared and mumbly. Its so slow my grandpa might start slam dancing. Tons of ambient noises. It just plain sucks. 1/2

11)The Night Before Christmas:This song is extremely boring and consists of a man reading "Twas The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore over a repetitive piano rift. It gets old super fast and ads nothing to the classic poem. Not a stellar way to end an album. *