Bright Eyes have shared three Companion EPs that accompany reissues of their 1998 debut, A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997, 1998’s Letting Off the Happiness, and 2000’s Fevers and Mirrors.
These three releases come as part of an even larger reissue project, which will see Bright Eyes reissuing all nine studio albums. Alongside the reissues, the band has shared a Companion EP featuring five new recordings of songs on the original release and a cover from an artist they were inspired by at the time of recording.
On this ambitious project, Bright Eyes recruited contributions from friends like Phoebe Bridgers, Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, and M. Ward. Bridgers offers up backing vocals on their Fevers and Mirrors track “Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh,” and Crutchfield features on “Contrast and Compare.” Among the three reissues and Companion EPs, there are 54 new Bright Eyes tracks.
Stream all of the Companion EPs below.
“It’s a meaningful way to connect with the past that doesn’t feel totally nostalgic and self-indulgent,” Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst explains of the series. “We are taking these songs and making them interesting to us all over again. I like that. I like a challenge. I like to be forced to do something that’s slightly hard, just to see if we can.”
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