Bright Eyes: Conor Oberst (acoustic guitar, Wurlitzer piano, bass guitar); Sabrina Duim (harp); Jason Boesel, Clark Baechle.

Personnel: Andy Leverett (vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming); Conor Oberst (vocals, piano, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards, sampler); Stella Mogis, Marcia Ann Taylor (vocals); Mike Mogis (guitar, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards, timpani, chimes, Theremin); Nicolas Zinner (guitar, keyboards); Sabrina Duim (harp); Kimberly Salistean, Donna Carnes (violin); Thomas Kluge (viola); Karen Becker (cello); Jiha Lee (flute); Nate Walcott (trumpet); Nick White (keyboards); Jason Boesel (drums, percussion); Clark Baechle (drums); Jimmy Tamborello (programming).

Additional personnel: Nick Zinner (vocals).

Audio Mixer: Mike Mogis.

Precocious indie wunderkind Conor Oberst (AKA Bright Eyes) released two full-length albums--I'M WIDE AWAKE, IT'S MORNING and DIGITAL ASH IN A DIGITAL URN--in early 2005, and the latter proved to be a stylistic curveball that veered sharply away from his emo-folk sound and into synth-heavy electronic music. The results sometimes recall a more pop-savvy version of Oberst's Saddle Creek labelmates the Faint, particularly on the gloomy "Down in a Rabbit Hole" and the New Wave-inspired single "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)."

By 2005, Nebraska native Oberst had made New York City his second home, and the urban influence shows through in the form of cool, burbling electronica (the light, airy "Hit the Switch") and the presence of Nick Zinner, guitarist for local favorites Yeah Yeah Yeahs. However, DIGITAL ASH isn't the complete departure some fans anticipated; Oberst's strikingly plaintive vocals and quirky songwriting are threads that directly tie the album to its companion disc, making both essential for Bright Eyes aficionados.

Rolling Stone (No. 966, pp.57-8) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[O]nce it gets going, it's phenomenal, with OMD-style guitar and keyboard hooks..."

Uncut (pp.72-3) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Like fine pop writers before him, Oberst's simply wrestling with something troubling he feels thick in the air."

Alternative Press (p.81) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[R]iskier but not totally out of character; it's the more holistic right brain to WIDE AWAKE's rational left brain."