“Thin Lizzy is one of the finest rock n roll bands of all time,” Oberst said in a statement. “Phil Lynott’s vocal delivery and lyrics exemplify nonchalant cool. On top of that they gave the world a reason to invent the word guitarmonies. I think this is such a beautiful love song. It felt really good to sing.”

The track has been released as part of record label Secretly Canadian’s 25th anniversary charity campaign. Download it here and check it out below:

Speaking about the project, Secretly Canadian said: “It’s a weird year to come-of-age, but as with any good coming-of-age story, the end is really the beginning, right? The movie ends and the whole next phase of life begins. We find new ideas and new purpose.”

The project will raise funds for New Hope For Families, an organisation that “provides housing and other services to families experiencing homelessness in our hometown of Bloomington, Indiana. There are a reported 334 unhoused people in Bloomington, including 81 children and 34 families”.

“When faced with what to do with this milestone, we could’ve thrown a big party but after 13 months of an imploded social life, what else do you do but re-entrench? Drill down to the hyper-local where you can make meaningful change? Keep your eye aimed toward a better future,” the label continued.

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Speaking to NME about the impact of Bright Eyes’ music, Oberst said he hopes it “makes people feel less alone”.

“I feel very lucky that our music has meant what it has to people,” he continued. “I used to say that I made this stuff for ourselves, but I don’t know if that’s true. I think of it a lot differently now. Now there’s more of a desire to share it with people, to make something that’s hopefully beneficial when they listen to it.”

• Related Topics
• Bright Eyes
• Conor Oberst
• Rock
• Thin Lizzy

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“Conor, Mike and Nate are aware that decisions they make for their traveling workplace have widespread repercussions for all immunocompromised family members within their touring party’s orbit and have therefore made the personal decision to postpone four shows during this time of unprecedented uncertainty.”

Affected shows include a second New York date that was scheduled to take place tonight (August 1) at Terminal 5, two dates at The Eastern in Atlanta scheduled for next week, and the tour’s closing show at Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham.

Rescheduled dates are yet to be locked in at the time of writing. The band’s upcoming shows in Charlottesville, Raleigh and Asheville remain unaffected.

Earlier this month, Bright Eyes rescheduled their forthcoming run of UK and European tour dates, now set to kick off in August of 2022.

Last autumn, the band linked up with Phoebe Bridgers for the track ‘Miracle Of Life’. Described as “a protest song”, the single discusses abortion rights in America. All proceeds from its release went to Planned Parenthood.

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“This song should not exist in 2020 America,” Oberst said of the song, which also featured members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Queens Of The Stone Age.

The track followed Bright Eyes’ first studio album in nine years, ‘Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was’, which they released last August via Dead Oceans. In a four-star review, NME writer Andrew Trendell wrote: “Naysayers may have scoffed at the ‘21st Century Bob Dylan’ tag when it was first applied to Oberst, but his maturity and depth can’t be denied here.”

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• Bright Eyes
• Indie

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Speaking of Lonely The Brave’s approach to making new music, guitarist Mark Trotter explained: “Given everything that’s happened to this band, it would have been remiss of us to try rushing into this or do something that wasn’t right. It takes time. We’ve been a band for over 10 years and stuck in our ways a lot.

“There has been a huge shift in dynamic now. It’s a completely different vibe from where we were before. There’s a renewed energy and a renewed focus. Everything feels very positive in the Lonely The Brave camp.”

See the album’s artwork and full tracklist below.

1. Bound
2. Distant Light
3. Bright Eyes
4. Chasing Knives
5. The Hope List
6. Keeper
7. (Untitled)
8. Something I Said
9. Open Door
10. Your Heavy Heart
11. The Harrow

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It’s also been announced that the band will head out on the road in support of ‘The Hope List’ next spring, with shows set to take place in Brighton, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds, Cambridge, Glasgow, Nottingham and London.

You can pre-order/pre-save the album and find ticket details here.

Lonely The Brave’s full April 2021 schedule is as follows:

11    BRIGHTON – HOPE & RUIN
12    BIRMINGHAM  –  CASTLE & FALCON 
13    BRISTOL  –  THE FLEECE 
15    CAMBRIDGE  –  J2 
16    MANCHESTER  –  ACADEMY 3
17    GLASGOW  –  KING TUT’S 
19    LEEDS  –  THE KEY CLUB 
20    NOTTINGHAM  –  THE BODEGA 
21    LONDON – BOSTON MUSIC ROOM

Speaking to NME in April about the band’s forthcoming record, new vocalist Jack Bennett said: “At the moment it’s nine tracks, but the track is in keeping with everything going on. It’s 75-85 per cent done and I’m producing and mixing it, so I can make sure the sound is authentic.

“I need to make sure that the sound of Lonely The Brave, which I enjoyed as a band, still comes across.”

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Reviewing ‘Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was’, which is Conor Oberst and co’s first new album since 2011’s ‘The People’s Key’, NME wrote: “Naysayers may have scoffed at the ‘21st Century Bob Dylan’ tag when it was first applied to Oberst, but his maturity and depth can’t be denied here. In recent years, the musician has lost his brother and his marriage.

“You feel that weight in the bagpipe dirge (yes, really) of ‘Persona Non Grata’, when he asks ‘Oh, how can we reconcile?’, and on the theatrical waltz of ‘One And Done’, where he weighs up time, loss and ageing: ‘This fleeting feeling is infinite.’”

Bright Eyes recently spoke to NME about the new album and their nine years away, saying that they hope their music “makes people feel less alone”.

“I feel very lucky that our music has meant what it has to people,” Oberst said in the interview. “I used to say that I made this stuff for ourselves, but I don’t know if that’s true. I think of it a lot differently now. Now there’s more of a desire to share it with people, to make something that’s hopefully beneficial when they listen to it.”

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• Related Topics
• Indie
• Rock

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