Bright Eyes have announced they will reissue their first three albums, A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997, Letting Off the Happiness and Fevers and Mirrors. The reissues are due out May 27 via Dead Oceans.
The reissues will also be paired with six-track companion EPs that feature reworked versions of original songs. They include collaborations with Waxahatchee, Phoebe Bridgers, M Ward, and Becky Stark.
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Bright Eyes‘ Conor Oberst spoke on the reissues and companion EPs in a statement. “It’s a meaningful way to connect with the past that doesn’t feel totally nostalgic and self-indulgent,” 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. My thing was they had to sound different from the originals, we had to mess with them in a substantial way.”
Three singles have been released so far, “Falling Out of Love at This Volume,” “Contrast & Compare” featuring Waxahatchee and “Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh” featuring Phoebe Bridgers. You can check out the companion EPs’ tracklisting below.
A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997: A Companion EP 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 EP 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 EP 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)