Bright Eyes
Four Winds (EP)
Label: Saddle Creek
U.S. Release: March 6, 2007

Following the bipolar 2005 releases of the hard-hitting Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and the countrified I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, fans are on-edge to see which Conor Oberst is going to appear on April 10th’s upcoming LP, Cassadaga.

Until then, we’ll have to settle for a 6-track EP featuring the single — a country romp called “Four Winds” complete with a two-step fiddle.

The other five tracks are Cassadaga b-sides that mostly err on the I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning side of the brain, ranging from full orchestra (”Reinvent the Wheel”) to simple acoustic (”Smoke Without Fire” featuring M. Ward).

Our favorite is “Cartoon Blues” with its Oberst-perfect syncopation, sloppy rock guitar solo and eerie vocal distortion. But perhaps that’s because we’re a bigger fan of the Faint-backed Digital Ash.

Either way, Oberst is on track to continue his boyish assault on the singer/songwriter genre in 2007, and this EP is simply one weapon in his arsenal.

Here’s the track you get free for joining the mailing list at the new Web site:

Bright Eyes : “Endless Entertainment” (mp3)