Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was

In 2009, Conor Oberst suggested that the next Bright Eyes album would be the band's last, after which he would retire the project. In February 2011, the band released their ninth studio album ''The People's Key. However, shortly thereafter Oberst told Rolling Stone'' that he was "definitely not making it official" as to whether the album would be the band's last. The band performed their last show in Honolulu, Hawaii on November 21, 2011. Bright Eyes went on an unofficial hiatus as members Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott each pursued different projects. During the hiatus, Oberst released three solo albums: Upside Down Mountain (2014), Ruminations (2016), and Salutations (2017). Oberst also released a second Desaparecidos album, Payola (2015), and formed the indie rock project Better Oblivion Community Center with Phoebe Bridgers, releasing an eponymous album in 2019. In 2014, Mogis and Walcott composed the soundtrack for The Fault in Our Stars, based on the novel of the same name by John Green. During the hiatus, Mogis also provided musical and technical contributions to music by other artists, while Walcott provided musical and songwriting contributions to other artists' music and scored other films. Walcott also worked as a touring member of other musical groups, including Broken Bells and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Bright Eyes' return began at a Christmas party in 2017 at Walcott's house. Oberst pitched the idea of regrouping Bright Eyes to Walcott, and he and Walcott huddled in a bathroom and called Mogis over FaceTime, who was Christmas shopping at a mall in Omaha. Mogis agreed to regroup, and the band began working again. It was a collaborative effort, with the band writing material for the album in Omaha and California. The album was recorded in 2019 The album also features contributions from drummer Jon Theodore (The Mars Volta, Queens of the Stone Age, One Day as a Lion) and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. The album also comes in the aftermath of Oberst's divorce in 2017 from Corina Figueroa Escamilla, whom he was married to for seven years. However, she is featured speaking in Spanish on the album's opening track, "Pageturners Rag". == Release ==

On January 9, 2020, Bright Eyes teased a comeback on their social media accounts with a cryptic animation alongside the hashtag "#BrightEyes2020". On January 21, 2020, the band announced their return with a series of 2020 tour dates, their first live performances in nine years. The band scheduled performances in Tokyo in March, Los Angeles in May, New York City in June, and at England's End of the Road Festival in September. They band also announced plans to release new music and revealed Bright Eyes had signed to Dead Oceans. Before signing to Dead Oceans, Bright Eyes had released all of their studio albums on Saddle Creek Records. On April 24, 2020, Bright Eyes cancelled most of the scheduled North American tour dates and postponed the remaining dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 23, 2020, the band cancelled dates on the scheduled UK and European tour and postponed the remaining dates to 2021. The band performed the first show of their tour on July 27, 2021, at Artpark Amphitheatre in Lewiston, New York. "Persona Non Grata" was released as the album's lead single on March 24, 2020. "Forced Convalescence" was released as the second single on April 21, 2020. "One and Done" was released as the third single on May 27, 2020. "Mariana Trench" was released as the fourth single on June 22, 2020, and was performed the same day by Bright Eyes on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The album's title, artwork, tracklisting, and release date were also announced the same day. Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was was released by Dead Oceans on August 21, 2020. The band gave a track-by-track breakdown of the album for Apple Music. == Artwork ==

The album's artwork was created by Zack Nipper, a former Saddle Creek Records graphic designer, who designed the cover artwork for most of Bright Eyes' previous albums and won the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for his work on their album Cassadaga (2007). == Critical reception ==

Down in the Weeds received favorable reviews from music critics. The album has a score of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 24 reviews. Year-end lists == Track listing ==

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Musicians Bright Eyes • Conor Oberst – vocals, acoustic guitar, piano • Mike Mogis – electric guitar, pedal steel, banjo, Marxophone, synth bass, percussion, programming, hammer dulcimer, bajo sexto • Nathaniel Walcott – piano, trumpet, flugelhorn, orchestral and choir arrangements, Hammond organ, electric pianos, synthesizers, vibraphone, Omnichord, Mellotron, harpsichord Additional musicians • Corina Figueroa Escamilla – vocals (track 1) • Nancy Oberst – vocals (track 1) • Miwi La Lupa – vocals (tracks 3, 4, 5, 14) • Andy LeMaster – vocals (tracks 9, 13) • Susan Sanchez – vocals (tracks 6, 8) • Jesca Hoop – vocals (tracks 4, 12) • Dan McCarthy – piano (track 1) • Flea – bass (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 14) • Macey Taylor – bass (tracks 3, 8, 9, 10, 13) • Jenny Lee Lindberg – bass (track 6) • Jon Theodore – drums (tracks 2–14), percussion (tracks 2–14), timpani (tracks 2–14) • Kip Skitter – percussion (tracks 2, 4, 11) • Joe Fuchs – bagpipes (track 8) • Joe Todero – bagpipes (track 8) • Malcolm Wilbur – bagpipes (track 8) • Suzie Katayama – orchestra conductor (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Jason McGee – choir conductor (tracks 2, 11) • James Connor – choir vocals (tracks 2, 11) • Quishima Dixon – choir vocals (tracks 2, 11) • Natalie Ganther – choir vocals (tracks 2, 11) • Anthony Johnston – choir vocals (tracks 2, 11) • Edward Lawson – choir vocals (tracks 2, 11) • Jennifer Lee – choir vocals (tracks 2, 11) • Sharetta Morgan-Harmon – choir vocals (tracks 2, 11) • Marquee Perkins – choir vocals (tracks 2, 11) • Jessica Guideri – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Tammy Hatwan – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Jackie Brand – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Roberto Cani – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Paul Cartwright – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Nina Evtuhov – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Gerry Hilera – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Ana Landauer – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Natalie Leggett – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Michele Richards – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Jenny Takamatsu – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • John Wittenberg – violin (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Rob Brophy – viola (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Tom Lea – viola (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Luke Maurer – viola (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Rodney Wirtz – viola (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – cello (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Erika Duka – cello (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Dane Little – cello (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Charlie Tyler – cello (tracks 2, 5, 7, 14) • Johanna Borenstein – flute (tracks 2, 7, 14) • Lara Wickes – oboe (tracks 2, 7, 14), English horn (tracks 2, 7, 14) • Don Foster – clarinet (tracks 2, 7, 14) • John Mitchell – baritone saxophone (tracks 4, 5) • Jon Lewis – trumpet (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 14) • Daniel Rosenboom – trumpet (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 14) • Alex Iles – trombone (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 14) • Steve Holtman – trombone (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 14) Technical • Bright Eyes – production (all tracks) • Mike Mogis – mixing (all tracks), engineering (tracks 1, 3, 8, 9, 10, 13) • Michael Harris – engineering (tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14) • Steve Churchyard – engineering (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14) • Adam Roberts – assistant engineer (tracks 1, 3, 8, 9, 10, 13) • Nik Fackler – assistant engineer (track 1) • Aaron Gum – assistant engineer (track 1) • Chris Cerullo – assistant engineer (tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14) • Chandler Harrod – assistant engineer (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14) • Andy LeMaster – assistant engineer (tracks 9, 13) • Tim Thomas – assistant engineer (tracks 4, 12) • Bob Ludwig – mastering (all tracks) Artwork • Zack Nipper – artwork, layout • Rob Walters – diorama photography == Charts ==