Bright Eyes is back with a new single, “Mariana Trench”, set to appear on the band’s newly-confirmed album. The LP, dubbed Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was, is due out on August 21st and marks the band’s first full-length release since 2011’s The People’s Key.
This announcement had been highly suspected since January, when the band’s long-dormant social media accounts began posting new pictures. Consequently, over the past few months fans have been given three new singles, all of which will be featured on the new album.
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On Down In The Weeds, Bright Eyes aims to rediscover their personal feelings of curiosity and creativity, told through the apocalyptic lens of what the world has become since we last heard from the group. Though they haven’t performed together since November 21st, 2011, the core group comprised of Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nathaniel Walcott has remained close these past 9 years. Oberst and Mogis live next door to each other in Omaha, while Walcott’s Los Angeles home is just a 15 minute drive from Oberst’s house on the East Side. According to the group, this quasi-reunion is actually three years in the making, and the process for this album showcases the group working together on each song like never before.
“Our history and our friendship, and my trust level with them, is so complete and deep,” Oberst said. “And I wanted it to feel as much like a three-headed monster as possible.”
“Mariana Trench”, the fourth single released from the 14-track album to date, finds the band embracing its indie-rock roots while also keeping up with the times. Using sparse percussion throughout the verses, the band is able to build to dramatic heights during the crescendoing choruses. All the while, the song is set to the animated vision of Art Camp, who builds a watercolor physical world out of the lyrical and instrumental one the band creates.
Watch the music video for “Mariana Trench”, the latest single from Bright Eyes’ forthcoming album Down In the Weeds Where The World Once Was, available on August 21st.
Bright Eyes — “Mariana Trench” (Official Video)
[Video: Bright Eyes]
Click here to pre-order Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was. Scroll down to see the album’s full track list.