It’s been nearly a decade since Bright Eyes released their last album, 2011’s The People’s Key. During that time, singer Conor Oberst released a handful of solo records, formed a band with Phoebe Bridgers called the Better Oblivion Community Center, and maintained a solid friendship with his Bright Eyes bandmates Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott, occasionally working togeter on other projects. Oberst also suffered the death of his brother and a divorce during this hiatus, and Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was is coloured by this personal grief on top of the existential anxieties the band has explored before.
Elsewhere this week, Matmos release an ambitous, experimental, three-disc set made with 99 collaborators, and The Lemon Twigs are back with their third studio album. Take a listen below.