Bright Eyes will try their luck with the band’s tenth studio album, Five Dice, All Threes. Out September 20th, the LP marks the Conor Oberst-led emo-folk outfit’s first release since its 2020 comeback Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was, which snapped nine years of inactivity. The album announcement arrives alongside the lead single “Bells and Whistles” and a new crop of U.S. and European tour dates.
Bright Eyes self-produced and recorded Five Dice, All Threes at Conor Oberst and bandmate Mike Mogis‘ ARC studio in the band’s hometown of Omaha, NE. For this 13-track album, Bright Eyes brought in outside help from Cat Power, Matt Berninger (The National), and Alex Orange Drink (The So So Glos), who all make guest appearances.
A press release describes the album as “a record of uncommon intensity and tenderness, communal exorcism and personal excavation.” As Bright Eyes approaches its 30th year (Oberst launched it as a solo endeavor in 1995 with Mogis and Nate Wilcott joining in 2006), the band is still breaking new ground as “these new songs exude a visceral thrill like nothing they have attempted before.”
“In the game of threes, the titular move would indicate a perfect roll,” the announcement said of the title. “Perfection, however, means something different in the world of Bright Eyes, where our flaws are what grants us authority and finding meaning is only possible if we bear witness to the dark, winding journey to get there.”
The album’s lead single “Bells and Whistles” features the reliable angst and sardonic wit fans have come to expect from Bright Eyes, set to disarmingly cheery instrumentation complete with the titular bells and whistles plus a jovial trumpet. The chorus-less song is a hodgepodge collage of cultural references from Banksy to Princess Diana, the Mets to Field of Dreams, and even a plug for the Edendale bar in L.A.’s Silverlake neighborhood. An accompanying Josh Boone-directed music video plays up the inherent joy amid catastrophe, as a magic photo booth transports fans to a Bright Eyes concert and a game of dice spills over into a barroom brawl.
“This is a song about the many little details in life that can seem insignificant or frivolous or temporary at the time but eventually end up forming your destiny,” Oberst said. “And it’s also kind of a whistle while you work scenario.”
Bright Eyes will take their new album on the road this fall with a limited run of 15 tour dates in the U.S., U.K., and Europe. Kicking off in Brooklyn on the eve of the album’s September 20th release, the domestic stretch includes festival sets at Riot Fest and Best Friends Forever alongside headlining shows in Omaha, Oakland, and Los Angeles in September and October. Come November, Bright Eyes will head overseas for stops in London, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, and more. Scroll down for a full list of tour dates.
An artist pre-sale for tickets to the newly announced Bright Eyes tour dates begins Wednesday, June 26th at 10 a.m. local time and runs through Friday, June 28th at 9:55 a.m. local time. Fans can sign up for the email newsletter here to receive an access code. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, June 28th at 10 a.m. local time.
Check out the music video for “Bells and Whistles” below or stream it on your preferred platform. Five Dice, All Threes is available here for pre-order, with the album artwork and tracklist included below.
Bright Eyes — “Bells And Whistles” [Official Video]
The post Bright Eyes Announce Tour & First Album In 4 Years, ‘Five Dice, All Threes’ [Video] appeared first on L4LM.
