Earlier this year, Bright Eyes shared reissues of their older albums, namely A Collection Of Songs Written And Recorded 1995-1997: A Companion, Letting Off The Happiness: A Companion, and Fevers And Mirrors: A Companion. However, they put a special twist on it: They loaded up each companion EP with five newly recorded versions of songs from the original albums, in addition to covers from artists of whom they are fond. Today, the band announced their second wave of companion EPs, which will release on November 11 via Dead Oceans.
Listeners will be treated to Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground: A Companion, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning: A Companion, and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn: A Companion. These three projects will also feature contributions from Gillian Welch, Dave Rawlings, Becky Stark and Maria Taylor, as wella s covers of “November” by Azure Ray, “Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel” by Townes Van Zandt, and “Agenda Suicide” by The Faint.
To jumpstart the lead-up to their November releases, Bright Eyes shared three new tracks Wednesday: “You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will.,” “Old Soul Song (For The New World Order),” and “Gold Mine Gutted.” For a band that has been around as long as them, it’s clear that Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nathaniel Walcott are still very committed to connecting with their fans through old songs and a new approach, especially ahead of their upcoming tour.
Check out “You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will.” above.
The three companion EPs will be out 11/11 via Dead Oceans. Pre-order them here.