Fevers and Mirrors
2000 studio album by Bright Eyes
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Fevers and Mirrors is the third studio album by American indie band Bright Eyes, recorded in 1999 and released on May 29, 2000. It was the 32nd release of the Omaha, Nebraska-based record label Saddle Creek Records. The album was released later in 2000 in the United Kingdom as the inaugural release from Wichita Recordings.[5]
| Fevers and Mirrors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 29, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 1999 | |||
| Studios | Presto!, Lincoln, Nebraska | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 55:10 | |||
| Label | Saddle Creek | |||
| Producer | Mike Mogis | |||
| Bright Eyes chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fevers and Mirrors: A Companion | ||||
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The album begins with a recording of a little boy reading Mitchell Is Moving, a book by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. "An Attempt to Tip the Scales" includes what is ostensibly an interview with the band's frontman, Conor Oberst. However, Oberst has admitted that the interview was something of a joke, intended to poke fun at the dark tone of the album. Conor's voice is impersonated in the interview by Todd Fink of the Faint and Commander Venus. The man interviewing is Matt Silcock, a former member of Lullaby for the Working Class.[6]
The album was reissued alongside a six-track companion EP by Dead Oceans on May 27, 2022.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Melody Maker |  [7] |
| NME | 7/10[2] |
| Pitchfork | 5.4/10 (2000)[8] 9.0/10 (2012)[9] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [10] |
| Under the Radar | 9/10[3] |
The music online magazine Pitchfork placed Fevers and Mirrors at number 170 on its list of top 200 albums of the 2000s,[11] despite a low initial score of 5.4/10. In 2012, Pitchfork's Ian Cohen gave the reissued version of the album a 9.0 out of 10.[9]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Spindle, a Darkness, a Fever, and a Necklace" | 6:28 |
| 2. | "A Scale, a Mirror and Those Indifferent Clocks" | 2:44 |
| 3. | "The Calendar Hung Itself..." | 3:55 |
| 4. | "Something Vague" | 3:33 |
| 5. | "The Movement of a Hand" | 4:02 |
| 6. | "Arienette" | 3:45 |
| 7. | "When the Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass" | 2:40 |
| 8. | "Haligh, Haligh, a Lie, Haligh" | 4:43 |
| 9. | "The Center of the World" | 4:43 |
| 10. | "Sunrise, Sunset" | 4:32 |
| 11. | "An Attempt to Tip the Scales" | 8:29 |
| 12. | "A Song to Pass the Time" | 5:30 |
| Total length: | 55:10 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Spindle, a Darkness, a Fever, and a Necklace" | 6:28 |
| 2. | "A Scale, a Mirror, and Those Indifferent Clocks" | 2:44 |
| 3. | "The Calendar Hung Itself..." | 3:55 |
| 4. | "Something Vague" | 3:33 |
| 5. | "The Joy in Discovery" | 1:06 |
| 6. | "The Movement of a Hand" | 4:02 |
| 7. | "When the Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass" | 2:40 |
| 8. | "Arienette" | 3:45 |
| 9. | "Jetsabel Removes the Undesirables" | 6:09 |
| 10. | "Haligh, Haligh, a Lie, Haligh" | 4:43 |
| 11. | "The Center of the World" | 4:43 |
| 12. | "Sunrise, Sunset" | 4:32 |
| 13. | "An Attempt to Tip the Scales" | 8:29 |
| 14. | "A Song to Pass the Time" | 5:30 |
| Total length: | 62:51 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Spindle, a Darkness, a Fever, and a Necklace" | 6:28 |
| 2. | "A Scale, a Mirror, and Those Indifferent Clocks" | 2:44 |
| 3. | "The Calendar Hung Itself..." | 3:55 |
| 4. | "Something Vague" | 3:33 |
| 5. | "The Joy in Discovery" | 1:06 |
| 6. | "The Movement of a Hand" | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Arienette" | 3:45 |
| 8. | "When the Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass" | 2:40 |
| 9. | "Haligh, Haligh, a Lie, Haligh" | 4:43 |
| 10. | "The Center of the World" | 4:43 |
| 11. | "Jetsabel Removes the Undesirables" | 6:09 |
| 12. | "Sunrise, Sunset" | 4:32 |
| 13. | "An Attempt to Tip the Scales" | 8:29 |
| 14. | "A Song to Pass the Time" | 5:30 |
| Total length: | 62:51 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Haligh, Haligh, a Lie, Haligh" (companion version) (featuring Phoebe Bridgers) | 4:38 |
| 2. | "A Scale, a Mirror, and Those Indifferent Clocks" (companion version) (featuring Phoebe Bridgers) | 3:01 |
| 3. | "Arienette" (companion version) | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Hypnotist (Song for Daniel H)" (Lullaby for the Working Class) | 3:21 |
| 5. | "When the Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass" (companion version) (featuring Phoebe Bridgers) | 2:49 |
| 6. | "A Spindle, a Darkness, a Fever, and a Necklace" (companion version) (featuring Phoebe Bridgers) | 4:46 |
| Total length: | 22:22 | |
Personnel
- Conor Oberst – vocals, guitar (1, 4, 6, 8, 10–12), sample (1), organs (2), Rhodes (5), keyboards (5, 12), piano (6, 7), tremolo guitar (9), percussion (11), toy piano (12)
- Mike Mogis – electric guitar (4, 9), pedal steel (6, 8), vibraphone (1, 8), tambourine (6, 8), glockenspiel (1), piano (1), Ebow pedal steel (2), electronics (2, 9), tongue drum (3), guiro (3), lap dulcimer (4), hammered dulcimer (5), atmosphere (7), acoustic guitar intro (9), organ (9), mandolin (10), keyboards (10), samples (11), percussion (11)
- Todd Baechle – keyboards (3)
- Tim Kasher – accordion (1, 4, 6)
- Joe Knapp – drums (3, 4, 6, 8, 9), percussion (3), vocals (8)
- Jiha Lee – flute (2, 4, 10), vocals (5)
- Andy LeMaster – guitar (3), percussion (3, 6, 11), Mellotron (5, 6), bass (2, 5, 10), electric guitar (9), vocals (9–11), keyboards (11)
- Matt Maginn – bass (3, 4, 6, 8, 9)
- A.J. Mogis – piano (2), Rhodes (9)
- Clint Schnase – drums (2, 5, 10)
Charts
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[12] | 7 |
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)[13] | 43 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[14] | 54 |