I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes

The Pinnacle for Emo Folk

Singer-songwriter Conor Oberst's venture, the indie rock outfit Bright Eyes, has produced the songs that seem to be the most widely known and beloved from Oberst's catalog. While Oberst's incredible talent shows throughout all of his music, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning is the Bright Eyes album most wholly and memorably potent.

Released in 2006 alongside Bright Eyes' heavily electronic album, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, the folksy and bluesy I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning winds between tales of personal and political melancholy with resolve and disdain in equal measure. A yellow bird crippled through its efforts to fly: soaring and crashing at the same time. Each song is as haunting as the last, and each line is spoken as carefully and passionately as Oberst is able.