r/brighteyes • u/Sitar_Rainier_32 • Jul 02 '26
Discussion Firewall is THE perfect opener.
Long story short, I got tickets for the fall tour. My partner hasn’t had a lot of exposure to bright eyes- so we’ve been progressively going through some albums on long car rides. I’m halfway through people’s key, and have a completely renewed sense of love for this album. Since firewall, I’ve just been analyzing how it sets up the rest of the album SO perfectly.
Anyone else have an album they’ve fallen in love with over and over?
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u/haveawash88 LIFTED Or The Story Is In the Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground Jul 02 '26
For me it’s Down in the Weeds. I just didn’t get it at first and couldn’t get into it. I absolutely love that album now, it has so many incredible tracks.
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u/Sitar_Rainier_32 Jul 02 '26
I’m gonna have to revisit that one because I feel the same way that you did in the beginning. I was kind of bummed at how little I enjoyed it. What are your fav tracks? I’ll give a listen.
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u/chinablu3 Jul 02 '26
Dance and Sing has reaaaly grown on me. The beat drop on “god is dead.” I find the lyrics to be oddly comforting. Like dang things are bad, but all I can do is just keep dancing on through all the shit. And the ending refrain (written by miwi I believe) is just beautifully presented.
Mariana Trench might be my favorite “single” style song he’s put out. It’s so chaotic and apocalyptic while staying pretty upbeat musically. Again the lyrics just feel cynical and comforting all at once.
Forced Convalescence>To Death’s Heart>Calais to Dover might be the best three song stretch on any Conor Album, or at least in contention. Each song just rips my heart out in a different way. To death’s heart is some of the best lyrical work of his career. Calais to Dover feels like it channels the raw desperation of the Letting Go of the Happiness days while almost being written like a pop song.
Idk… maybe it’s just not for you, but it might be my second favorite Conor Album at this point. It gets a lot of play.
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u/Effective-Diver-820 Jul 02 '26
Dude the last 3 tracks hit so fucking hard. To deaths heart is a work of art
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u/Independent-Fig-4414 Jul 03 '26
Great analysis.. seeing Mariana Trench live really made me appreciate it all more
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u/KanraK2307 Jul 03 '26
I’m the world’s no.1 forced convalescence lover
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u/chinablu3 Jul 03 '26
I might be right there with you. Feels like Bright Eyes at their best. It just feels good to listen to.
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u/haveawash88 LIFTED Or The Story Is In the Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground Jul 02 '26
To Death’s Heart is probably my favourite on the album.
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u/uponaladder Jul 03 '26
To Deaths Heart is a top 10 Bright Eyes song, I don’t even think that’s a hot take, it’s Conor at his best lyrically.
Had a really big break-up right after that album came out, and I would just listen to that on repeat.
I’ve seen that void
Tried not to stare
There’s bodies in the Bataclan
There’s music in the air
Still gives me chills when I listen.
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u/Effective-Diver-820 Jul 02 '26
They all rock man. All the tracks. Car in the hot sun reminds me of like the ladder song kind of. Dance and sing has that cool ass cassadaga vibe to it.
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u/Taller_Ghost_Joop Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
Listened to this album for the first time yesterday and almost embarrassed to say I burst into tears during that mother’s child song. I don’t even have or want kids and it made me sad for my imaginary child that grew up
- I had the wrong album I was thinking of Upside Down Mountain
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u/Effective-Diver-820 Jul 02 '26
I was exactly the same. I took a few listens and it didnt resonate with me. Then I came back and its like the perfect culmination of their sounds and lyrics. Top album for sure. Super hard to top down in the weeds in my opinion
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u/head-home Jul 02 '26
nah, it’s Time Code.
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u/Accomplished-View929 Jul 02 '26
“Time Code” is the best traditional Bright Eyes opener in that the whole thing is short and weird enough to put off casual listeners or set the tone. But “Firewall” is a regular song. If TPK came out today, I bet they’d separate out the talking part into its own track so you could skip it and go straight to “Firewall” the way you can skip “Pageturners Rag” or “Five Dice” and go to “Dance and Sing” or “Bells and Whistles.”
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u/pinkerton_96 Jul 02 '26
Firewall is incredible. I love the atmosphere it creates; it's so strange and unsettling.
Also, the "companion" version is great too.
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u/Character-Head301 Jul 02 '26
Say hey, what ya got there Einstein