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Bright Eyes Letting Off the Happiness Released in 1998 6.9/10 Styles Folk Rock Singer/Songwriter Emo Song Highlights Padriac My Prince June on the West Coast A Poetic Retelling of an Unfortunate Seduction |
Letting Off the Happiness was the music world's introduction to Conor Oberst, a hot-headed 17 year old kid who would eventually go on to record 2002's Lifted, or, The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, which turned him into the star he is today. As a debut, the album is predictably raw and unpolished, with most of the tracks being strictly lo-fi affairs, ranging from scratchy, Dylan-esque song narrations to equally scratchy, upbeat emo (verging on screamo) numbers. Oberst's songwriting, both in terms of his lyrics and his abilities as a musician, were clearly still developing during the recording of Letting Off the Happiness, and frequently Oberst sounds like he's still figuring out what sort of artist he wants to be - charismatic folkster, disillusioned screamer or something else alltogether? Most of the album was recorded during a session on new year's eve of 97/98, and Oberst intejects between several of the tracks, giving commentary on the progression of the evening, including updates on the number of hours remaining until midnight. On many albums such an inclusion would serve no greater purpose than being a simple curiosity, but here it manages to be a big help, by tying together the varied tracklist into a more unified and complete feeling package. Perhaps its biggest weakness is that Letting Off the Happiness reveals that in 1998, Conor Oberst had not yet learned, as a vocalist, how to scream. There's a fine art to the scream in music, and there's a very thin line between a scream that carries an affecting degree of intensity and emotion, and one that just hurts your ears. Too often Oberst's unexpected outbursts fall onto the latter side, and it really doesn't do him any favours. All that being said, the album does contain a fair number of great tracks, especially more relaxed folkier numbers like "Padriac My Prince" and "A Poetic Retelling of an Unfortunate Seduction," as well as the clearly Dylan-influenced, speak-singer "June on the West Coast." It's unremarkable when compared to the albums which follow it, but Letting Off the Happiness is still a solid album, and an intriguing look into Bright Eyes' history, making it an entirely worthwhile aquisition for fans. Those of you who don't like any of his more recent work, however, should definitely be looking elsewhere. |