Review: Bright Eyes new album still sings same overrated tune

I'm a pretty open guy. I'll usually give anything at least one shot to impress me, and, I'll be honest, I'm always a bit wary of music or movies that "revolutionize the field."

One such band is the immensely popular Bright Eyes. Throughout the years, my friends have told me how short sighted I was for not absolutely adoring this band. I just couldn't get into them. Their sound has always been like an empty shell of what should have been good indie music. Shockingly, I loved Bright Eyes' front man Conner Oberst's flirtation with punk rock in the late ‘90s with his short-lived band Desaparecidos. The world's love for Bright Eyes however, has always been a mystery to me.

Against my better judgment, I decided to give the face of indie music another shot with their new album "The People's Key." That was a mistake.

I can usually find one redeeming grace in an album or one track that I can actually enjoy. Not the case this time. From the beginning, this album pissed me off with a recording of a random guy spewing nonsense about a time paradox. I love intros. I literally adore a band that uses the first track of an album as an introduction. There has never been an intro fail like this. The first track, ‘Firewall' literally has three minutes of babbling prior to any music. Three minutes of nonsense, just plain and simple maddening nonsense. It does nothing to set the tone of the album. Several bands have tried this sort of thing in the first track, but they succeeded. Their introductions actually worked as a setup for the album.

Unfortunately, this is the least of this album's problems. The worst being it is flat out boring. The album is uninspired and semi-melodic. The music will lull any listener into a hypnotic state where he or she could be in danger for their life. Driving while enduring this album is more dangerous than the dreaded text messaging motorist. The danger doesn't stop there. I can literally see some indie kid running over his or her foot with a lawn mower because they allowed themselves to be zombified by this album while trimming the grass. It's that bad.

Granted this is not my favorite genre of music, but I like quite few bands that come from the same mold. My Morning Jacket, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead and Iron & Wine are cool with me. Two of these bands are in my top 20, but Bright Eyes is just ridiculously overrated.

There is one good thing about this album. Resistance forces seeking democracy in the Middle East and North Africa could blast it over a PA at their respective government's offices. The act should result in repulsion, or zombification. Either way no member of the country's government will be able to put up much of a fight. Thank you Conner Oberst for your efforts in spreading democracy. You should be commended for that, but certainly not for the quality of your music.