Last we heard from Conor Oberst (the driving force behind Bright Eyes), the ever earnest one was pulling a Guns N' Roses and releasing two albums on the same day back in January 2005. This time around he's opted for just a single album, "Cassadaga," due in early spring. "Four Winds" comes from an EP that should hold over Bright Eyes' legion of doe-eyed fans until the full-length record arrives. The song's loping guitar and fiddle arrangement are closer to the classic singer-songwriter tone of "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning," from the aforementioned album double than the electronic soundscaping of its sister album, "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn." Oberst's lyrics are, of course, as richly mythic and accusatory as ever.
--D.M.
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