Bright Eyes reissuing LPs w/ companion EPs ft. Phoebe Bridgers & more, add to tour (BV Presale)
Bright Eyes launched their career on Omaha label Saddle Creek Records, but they released their 2020 reunion album, Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was, via Dead Oceans, and that's also where they'll be reissuing all nine of their studio albums. Each reissue will be partnered with a "companion" EP featuring five new recordings of songs from the original album, along with a cover song from "an artist they found particularly inspiring at the time of the original recording." They've announced the first three reissues, of A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997, 1998's Letting Off The Happiness, and 2000's Fevers and Mirrors, all due out on May 27 (pre-order here). "It’s a meaningful way to connect with the past that doesn’t feel totally nostalgic and self-indulgent," Conor Oberst says. "We are taking these songs and making them interesting to us all over again. I like that. I like a challenge. I like to be forced to do something that’s slightly hard, just to see if we can."
They've also shared the track lists for the companion EPs, and a new single from each. The A Collection of Songs EP includes a cover of "Double Joe" by Simon Joyner (who Conor called his "favorite lyricist of all time"), and you can hear a new version of "Falling Out of Love At This Volume" now. On the Letting Off The Happiness EP, Waxahatchee features on "The City Has Sex" and "Contrast and Compare" (the latter of which you can hear now), M. Ward on "Kathy With A K's Song," Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond on "June On The West Coast," and Conor's Better Oblivion Community Center bandmate Phoebe Bridgers on a cover of Elliott Smith's "St. Ides Heaven."
Phoebe features even more on the companion EP to Fevers and Mirrors, on "Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh" (which you can hear now), "A Scale, A Mirror, And Those Indifferent Clocks," "When The Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass," and "A Spindle, A Darkness, A Fever, And A Necklace." That EP also has a new version of "Arienette" and a cover of Lullaby For the Working Class' "Hypnotist (Song for Daniel H)."
About the reworked songs, Conor said, "My thing was they had to sound different from the originals, we had to mess with them in a substantial way," and all three new singles have some of the maximalist feel of Down in the Weeds. It's also a treat to hear Phoebe and Conor sing together again, and to hear Waxahatchee add her vocals to a classic song.
Along with the reissues and EPs, Bright Eyes are also expanding their 2022 tour, adding US shows in May, June, and July. See updated dates below.
The new additions include an Asbury Park, NJ date at Stone Pony Summerstage on June 3, with support from Alex G. You can get tickets early on BrooklynVegan Presale starting Thursday, February 3 at 10 AM. Check back here on Thursday morning for the password. UPDATE: The password is BRIGHTEYESBV. If you miss out on our presale, tickets to that, and all dates, go on sale Friday, February 4 at 10 AM local time.
Pre-order Bright Eyes' first three reissues and their companion EPs, and order Conor and Phoebe's collaborative 2019 album Better Oblivion Community Center on vinyl in the BrooklynVegan store.
A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997: A Companion Tracklist
1) “Driving Fast Through A Big City At Night”
2) “Solid Jackson”
3) “A Celebration Upon Completion”
4) “Falling Out of Love At This Volume”
5) “Exaltation On A Cool Kitchen Floor”
6) “Double Joe” (Simon Joyner cover)
Letting Off The Happiness: A Companion Tracklist
1) “The Difference In The Shades”
2) “The City Has Sex (feat. Waxahatchee)”
3) “Contrast And Compare (feat. Waxahatchee)”
4) “Kathy With A K’s Song (feat. M Ward)”
5) “St. Ides Heaven (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)” (Elliott Smith cover)
6) “June On The West Coast (feat. Becky Stark)”
Fevers and Mirrors: A Companion Tracklist
1) “Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)”
2) “A Scale, A Mirror, And Those Indifferent Clocks (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)”
3) “Arienette”
4) “Hypnotist (Song for Daniel H)” (Lullaby For The Working Class cover)
5) “When The Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)”
6) “A Spindle, A Darkness, A Fever, And A Necklace (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)”
BRIGHT EYES: 2022 TOUR
03-23 St. Paul, MN - Palace Theatre
03-24 Milwaukee, WI - The Riverside Theater
03-25 Madison, WI - The Sylvee
03-26 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
03-27 Detroit, MI - The Cathedral Theatre at the Masonic
03-29 Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room
03-30 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
03-31 Louisville, KY - Paristown Hall
04-01 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
04-02 Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre
04-03 Columbus, OH - Express Live!
04-05 Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
04-06 Port Chester, NY - Capitol Theatre
04-07 Boston, MA - Roadrunner
04-08 Philadelphia, PA - The Met
04-09 Washington, D.C. - The Anthem
04-10 Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
05-19 Oklahoma City, OK - The Jones Assembly
05-20 Dallas, TX - The Factory in Deep Ellum
05-21 Austin, TX - ACL Live at the Moody Theater
05-22 Houston, TX - The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall
05-23 New Orleans, LA - Orpheum Theater
05-25 Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall
05-26 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
05-27 Miami Beach, FL - Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
05-28 St Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
05-29 Atlanta, GA - The Eastern
05-31 Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore Charlotte
06-01 Cincinatti, OH - Brady Music Center *
06-02 Richmond, VA - Brown's Island *
06-03 Ashbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony Summerstage *
06-04 New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall *
06-05 Lafayette, NY - Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards *
06-15 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
06-16 Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
06-17 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
06-18 Troutdale, OR - McMenamin's Edgefield Amphitheatre
06-20 San Francisco, CA - The Masonic
06-23 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
06-24 San Diego, CA - Soma
06-25 Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
06-28 Salt Lake City, UT - The Union
06-30 Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom
07-01 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
07-02 Omaha, NE - The Admiral
07-03 Omaha, NE - The Admiral
08-12 Oslo, Norway - Øyafestivalen 2022
08-14 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
08-16 Hamburg, Germany - Fabrik
08-17 Prague, Czech Republic - Lucerna Music Bar
08-19 Berlin, Germany - Tempodrom
08-20 Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
08-22 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
08-23 Cologne, Germany - Carlswerk Victoria
08-25 Vienna, Austria - Arena Open Air
08-26 Munich, Germany - Muffathalle
08-27 Zurich, Switzerland - X-Tra
08-30 London, England - Eventim Apollo
08-31 Manchester, England - O2 Apollo
09-01 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street
09-05 Birmingham, England - O2 Institute Birmingham
09-06 Glasgow, Scotland - Barrowland
* Alex G supporting