Track Listing

1. Time Code
2. Gold Mine Gutted
3. Arc of Time (Time Code)
4. Down In A Rabbit Hole
5. Take It Easy (Love Nothing)
6. Hit The Switch
7. I Believe In Symmetry
8. Devil In The Details
9. Ship In A Bottle
10. Light Pollution
11. Theme From Pinata
12. Easy/Lucky/Free

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23403 in Music
• Released on: 2005-01-24
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
There is always a problem with releasing two albums on one day. Of the two, Digital Ash In A Digital Urn is the trickier to digest- per the title , the sound is mostly created ore from heavy drum loops, metallic percussion, clicks, pops and buzzing synths, coupled with the distressed, cracked voice that appeals and dismays in equal measures. The sound-effect laden "Time Code" sets the scene for an album of clanking twists and turns, reaching fine apexes in "Arc Of Time" and the bouncy "Hit The Switch" that are less melodic and more ominous than their "Wide Awake" counterparts, but more rewarding, and this is probably the album the fans will prefer.

In this case, both as good as any previous album (and, given Conor Oberst's previous form, that's a high benchmark to compare with), but inevitably, as Bruce Springsteen has found, they will be forever compared with one another. Thankfully, there isn't a difference in quality between these two albums, more a difference in approach, which makes for equal, delightful brilliance. The domination of the US singles chart ("Take It Easy" at #2, and "Lua" at #1 simultaneously) suggests that both could be equal hits, and deservedly so. --Thom Allott

CD Description
America's enfant terrible-cum-cause celebre of garage alt. country, Conor Oberst, follows up 2002's 'Lifted...' album by "doing a Guns n' Roses" and releasing two new albums on the same day (this one and 'I'm Wide Awake It's Morning'). This is the experimental release, wherein Bright Eyes' Dylanesque folk is sampled, chopped up, deconstructed and saturated in electronic glitches. The result has baffled the critics, with some comparing it to Radiohead's 'Kid A'.

Customer Reviews

Another side of Bright Eyes
Everyone knows that, when armed with an acoustic guitar and four chords, Conor Oberst can send a shiver down hipsters' spines, and this month's masterpiece I'm Wide Awake It's Morning will surely take this indie crooning into the mainstream. But wait! Lurking behind this incredible honing of his sound is something more adventurous, perhaps less crowd-pleasing. Digital Ash In A Digital Urn swaps Emmylou Harris and Jim James for Dntel from electro-indie outfit The Postal Service, and replaces stripped-down acoustic guitars with squelchy electronics, tinny drum machines and distorted guitars from Nick Zinner, the skinny axe-wielder from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Can he recreate his trademark sensitivity with instruments devoid of soul?

The answer- at least in parts- is a resounding yes. The country warmth may be gone, but- like all Oberst's work under various guises- his sharp wordplay and cracked voice elevate this further from typical 'new Bob Dylan' fare. While the music may be experimental, this is no Kid A-style reinvention. For a start, it actually has tunes, and some of Digital Ash... resembles finely-crafted pop music, such as the indie-with-beats number Hit The Switch, or US Number 2 single Take It Easy. While we could have done without the weird baby noises on the lacklustre Ship In A Bottle, the experimentation provides an interesting new method of conveying Oberst's nightmares and teenage worries, in the same way that previous side-project Desaparecidos coated his political angst in punk guitars and screaming.

This flawed-but-brilliant album's finest moments put a new spin on a tried-and-tested formula, like a good remix album (if such a thing exists). It's actually a lot more human than its computerised nature appears. Some may still be turned off by this new digital approach, but there's an album more suited to purists and newcomers that comes out on the exact same day. This is its darker brother: not as accessible or instantly likeable, but when given time to unfurl, Digital Ash In A Digital Urn is more proof that Oberst can do more than strum a clapped-out acoustic guitar to get his message across.

!!!!
This album is Conor Oberst's first foray into synths and the like,and it is surprisingly brilliant.
The first song,Time Code,sounds quite a lot like something that would have appeared on Radiohead's Kid A-it is bizarrely inward-looking and damaged sounding.It is a false start,however,because it is followed by a series of the most commercial (in the best sense of the word) that deserve commercial success.Gold Mine (Gutted),Take It Easy (Love Nothing),Arc Of Time,Devil In The Details... the overall result is probably the best Bright Eyes album,and could signpost a move away from what Bright Eyes normally sound like (acoustic,tear-strewn)-or at least it would if the simultaneously released album,I'm Wide Awake It's Morning (which is more like a continuation of the superb Lifted) wasn't equally brilliant.Who knows where Oberst will go next?

Ticking the boxes
"Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" is one of two albums recently released simultaneously by Bright Eyes, a vehicle for the low key musings of singer-songwriter, artiste generale Connor Oberst.

It is unnecessary to delve too deeply into the much discussed differences between this and its sister album, "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning," (henceforth IWAIM) which fitted more securely into the alt-folk acoustic model that has created a loyal fan base for Bright Eyes.

In many ways, their is a strong continuity with his former work; highly nuanced rhythm and melody within a simple structure, lyrics that are abstract in a sense that they reveal ideas and feelings rather than disguise meaning and vocals that have the ability to express deep emotion but are cranked up sparingly so maintaining their integrity. These hallmarks of Oberst's work make this an album that will still appeal to his loyal fan base, (although of course he was smart enough to sweeten the pill with "IWAIM").

However, the use of drum machines, unsyncopated beats, and highly processed and synthetic sound effects, that mark a break from his previous work, give this album a more refined almost futuristic style that will appeal to people who find pared down acoustic musings a little too raw to digest.

While being an intelligent commercial move this is also a social service; singer-songwriters almost always have the most thought provoking lyrics and it is commendable that Oberst is bringing his brand to a generation succoured on electronica.

This has become a bit of a eulogy so to balance the books slightly; this will annoy die-hards but Oberst's voice can grate after continued listens (although not many artists can claim to avoid this). Moreover, the album maintains a level of consistent quality rather than displaying real stunners such as First Day of My Life from "IWAIM". However, all in all gold star to yound Connor and the artworks pretty too.

Sorry, also, songs "I Believe in Symmetry" and "Easy/Lucky/Free" are surprisingly unmentioned in previous reviews. Not to carp or anything, but they're good