Digital Ash in a Digital Urn

Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst continues to earn his reputation as our most respected young troubadour with almost frightening ease. He's been recording since the age of 13, and for the past few years he's been tagged "rock's boy genius" by the music press. Now, with the release of these two albums, we have unequivocal proof that the 24 year-old Oberst belongs amid our lineage of great American songwriters. These albums are a soundly articulated slice of modern life rolled into two very different records, both bursting with all of the heartfelt poetry for which Bright Eyes' records have earned their acclaim.Of course, the rough edges haven't gone away - the palpitation of a splintering note, the crack of a voice as it overextends, the clumsy thump of a misplaced thumb. It's all still there. But there's a glorious new level of depth and a maturation of texture, writing and delivery.

Having established himself as a folk singer-songwriter of considerable weight with 2002's--take a deep breath--Lifted, or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, Conor Oberst takes the opportunity to experiment here. Released simultaneously with the more conventional follow-up disc, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn sees the Omaha-based leader of Bright Eyes teaming up with a diverse set of musicians that includes Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner for a collection of songs that aim to recreate the alien landscapes of Radiohead but more often come off sounding like midperiod Depeche Mode. --Aidin Vaziri