The release of Bright Eyes' The People's Key marks singer-songwriter Conor Oberst's 18th year of releasing music. The 30-year-old creative force and leader of the band has progressed from making obscure lo-fi recordings to critically-lauded multi-member odysseys, and has been lauded as "the new Dylan" by the press for his lyrical style, relevance and content.
The question that remains after all this: What has he learned?
The People's Key offers answers from an unlikely source: Rastafarianism. A recurring theme of the album — rumored to be the band's last — is the concept of "I and I," a philosophy that emphasizes oneness among all people.
Yet, it's not so cut and dry. Oberst also draws on the vibe from 2007's spiritually-infused Cassadaga. Both records appeal to the metaphysical and the mystical, The People's Key opening with the otherworldly ramblings of Denny Brewer, a member of the Team Love band Refried Ice Cream. Credited in the liner notes for contributing "shamanic vocals," Brewer sets the stage for the album with his reflections on reptilian humans, Sumerian tablets, and the expansion of space.
This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2011.