Bright Eyes The People's Key

3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The latest dispatch from Planet Conor weaves the weird knowledge he's accrued over the years into a rich, sprawling, fragmented record....He manages to be everything at once: folkie and punk, old soul and eternal boy, high-plains drifter and hipster heartthrob."
"THE PEOPLE'S KEY proves Oberst has learned to balance a cutting perspective with a bleeding heart."
3 stars out of 5 -- "Mike Mogis produces, but rather than pedal steels and acoustic guitars, here reference points are as far-flung as New Order, Arcade Fire and The Cure. The stylistic shifting seems to come easily to Oberst..."
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "From the blast-beat breaks during 'Jejune Stars' to the laid-back Grandaddy vibe of 'Triple Spiral' and the philosophical piano ballad 'Ladder Song,' THE PEOPLE'S KEY adds some new elements..."
Ranked #7 in Magnet's '20 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "'Approximate Sunlight' haunts and skulks among his very best."
"The brilliance of the album is taking individual phrases and matching them with perfect tonal or dynamic shifts. The alternately piano and guitar-driven songs are masterfully crafted..."
Billboard (p.40) - "[F]or all their diversity and maturity, these songs couldn't have been written by anyone else, and this welcome return shows that the three years since the last Bright Eyes album have been well spent."
4 stars out of 5 -- "[H]ere, his rock and electric/synthetic tendencies are to the fore, the conceptual challenges coming thick and fast.'
Paste (magazine) - "THE PEOPLE'S KEY is a return to immediacy....The instrumentation is raw and electric -- guitars and synths battling it out over Walcott's always inventive drumming."
3 stars out of 5 -- "This is an album of economy, and is deftly played....A definite, confident progression for Bright Eyes."