On Five Dice, All Threes, he leans into it, letting chance and emotional rawness guide the sound of another classic Bright Eyes record. Here, Oberst grapples with the existential crises that pervade much of his work, but this time from a place of maturity – or perhaps a more acute, albeit jaded, awareness of time passing and things changing beyond his control. Having witnessed the evolution of indie music firsthand, he remains its melancholic poet laureate, even as artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Adrianne Lenker have carried forward the torch of confessional songwriting. Oberst’s influence is undeniable, having paved the way for a new generation of indie folk and emo-adjacent acts. This album reaffirms that, reminding us that even in a landscape dominated by newer voices, his signature style of storytelling still resonates just as powerfully as ever.
Whereas Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was was the band’s grand, orchestrally-driven, and meticulously produced return after a 9-year hiatus, Five Dice, All Threes finds Oberst and bandmates Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott reuniting with an intentional focus on capturing the raw energy of each song with live recorded mixes (many of the tracks bring to mind a more frenetic version of I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning). And just like any Bright Eyes record, a sound collage opens up the album: a handful of dice land on a table as a candid conversation between friends playing “threes” unfolds. Landing all five dice on threes is a game of chance; likewise, the band here was willing to let go of control in the writing and recording process, improvising to create something that feels less produced but more endearing, as they opted for first takes over perfect takes.
“Rainbow Pass” is pure, classic Bright Eyes, bringing
forward a punk-folk sound with Alex Orange Drink, the frontman of the
New York punk band The So So Glos. “All Threes” stands out with its
jazzy piano, featuring soulful vocals from Cat Power, adding depth and
texture to the mainly emo and punk flecked folk of the album. Hearing
Matt Berninger of The National on “The Time I Have Left” is an
unexpected but great addition. Oberst and Berninger’s trembling voices
compliment each other surprisingly well, blending to evoke some of the
saddest, weary sounds on the album, as Oberst sings “I don’t want to go
there / You don’t want to come / stepped on a landmine, light
exploding,” and the repeated words in the chorus, “I would like to ask
you the time / I have left.” The song doesn’t go too much further than
that lyrically, and for a talented songwriter like Oberst, it’s a missed
opportunity to showcase more of his lyricism. However, Mogis’s
production on the track makes it stand out, warping the vocals and
pushing the song in new directions.
“Hate” finds Oberst at his most nihilistic, as he shares
his thoughts in a jaded, biting tone of resignation from the world, with
lines that are as cynical as they are detached (“Don’t you know the bad
guys always win?” he repeats). As the song progresses, Oberst delves
deeper into personal disillusionment, shifting from theological targets
to self-loathing, calling out the artificiality of societal norms (“I
hate making small talk, begging for some change”) and confronting his
own reflection as he sings, “I hate the protest singer, staring at me in
the mirror.” At this moment, Oberst questions the value of his own art
and activism. Yet, in true Bright Eyes fashion, the song’s stark honesty
forces us to confront our own discomfort, making “Hate” one of the
album’s most challenging but thought-provoking tracks.
With Five Dice, All Threes, Bright Eyes prove they
can still evoke both intimacy and grandiosity without sacrificing the
imperfect edges that made their early work so compelling. The album
invites us to embrace the messiness of life’s unresolved questions,
making this another worthy addition to the Bright Eyes catalog.
