Despite all the plaudits and "new Dylan" comments thrown at Conor Oberst, it seems, to my mind at least, that he has always failed to live up to expectations when it comes to Bright Eyes albums.
An exceptionally talented writer and performer, Oberst seems to have difficulty with quality control, often leading to records that contain moments of genius but are overly long or lacking focus.
The release of Cassadaga would seem to address this problem.
After the false start of Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed), the album gets into full swing with recent single Four Winds.
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This is what I thinkA classic slice of violin drenched americana, it gives the indication that the electronica that formed the core of 2005's Digital Ash in a Digital Urn has been swept aside to allow Oberst's more familiar rambling country style a place in the foreground.
This theme becomes even more obvious on album highlight If the Brakeman Turns My Way which packs a great call-and-response chorus over pedal steel guitar and flittering organ.
If in the past it has been all too easy to think of Bright Eyes as merely a Conor Oberst solo project, this record redresses the balance somewhat, relying as it does on the ensemble cast of musicians that have been assembled. Crucially, it's the input of mainstays Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott that have the greatest effect.
Mogis handles production duties with aplomb as well as playing just about every instrument under the sun while Walcott contributes piano and trumpet and is responsible for the Bacharach style orchestral arrangement on Make a Plan to Love Me.
The aforementioned track is one of the best on the LP with lilting strings and sweet girl group backing vocals (courtesy of Z Berg and Rachel Yamagata, among others) wrapping themselves around Oberst's most straightforward love song of the album.
Elsewhere, the frontman is in fine lyrical form as evidenced by Soul Singer in a Session Band's tale of dreams shattered by surrounding circumstance ("I was a hopeless romantic now I'm just turning tricks") and the memory of a past relationship in Classic Cars ("never trust a heart that is so bent it can't break").
At the seventh time of asking, Oberst and his cohorts have managed to deliver a cohesive and consistent piece of work.
Thankfully, they were allowed the time and space to grow.
Even Dylan didn't get it right the first time around.
