Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice

I heard that Bright Eyes was releasing a split CD with Son, Ambulance during a show in late September. At the time, I didn't think much about the notion of a split release. It seemed like an expected move from Bright Eyes' front man Conor Oberst and his friend Joe Knapp, who fronts Son, Ambulance and has done percussion work with Bright Eyes. What self-proclaimed indie rock listener doesn't own a split 7" record of some sort or another?

But when my copy of Oh Holy Fools arrived in the mail, one thing was immediately clear: this album isn't a split. There are two bands performing their songs on the CD, but it's not four songs by Bright Eyes and then four by Son, Ambulance, or vice versa. No, no, no, my friends.

Rather, the clever cats at Saddle Creek have alternated between bands, starting with Son, Ambulance and continuing throughout the CD's eight tracks. "What about continuity?" you ask, and I reply, "There is some odd blend of continuity here. Somehow this experiment works."

And this record is quite the mad scientist experiment. Joe Knapp has the weirdest voice. That isn't to say that it is either good or bad, but that it is just plain weird. Sometimes it seems like he is 1/72nd of a beat behind when he sings; other times his vocal uniqueness is absolutely perfect.

Oh Holy Fools is the world's first real dose of Son, Ambulance (although Knapp recorded four bare-bones tracks that appeared under the band's old name, Ambulance, on an Insound Tour Support CD), and if you are open to Knapp's voice, the songs prove to be both engaging and endearing.

"The Invention of Beauty" sonically invokes a melancholy Club Med vacation with staccato guitar strumming that sounds a bit like a ukulele, sparse syncopated percussion, and heartfelt lyrics delivered as a stream-of-consciousness confession. "Kaite Come True" is the strongest contribution with a wordy chorus that gets stuck in your head, as the vocals at first quietly plead and then triumphantly proclaim, "Will you step into the light from the screen / So I can make out your shape / You don't need to tell me anything / Because I know what you mean."

To raise the bar above Knapp's lyrical eloquence, Conor Oberst's lyrics in the Bright Eye's selections capture a universal aspect of existence so perfectly that I feel the need to question if he is a reincarnation of some poet or philosopher. Still, I think one of my friends captured it best when he proclaimed that Oberst is a fantastic lyricist and an okay songwriter.

Oberst and company don't break any new ground with the four songs that Bright Eyes contribute to Oh Holy Fools disc, but they do add four lyrically-strong and charming songs to their ever-expanding catalogue. As he often does for Bright Eyes, Mike Mogis (of Lullaby for the Working Class) adds musical depth with instruments like vibraphone, mandolin, and pedal steel. Also, Jiha Lee contributes melodic flute parts, while "Going for the Gold" features a Steve Micek b-flat horn solo that would do Neutral Milk Hotel proud.

Through "Oh, you are the roots that sleep beneath my feet and hold the earth in place," a lilting 6/8 shuffle, along with "No Lies, Just Love" and the oft-played live "Kathy with a K's Song," Bright Eyes offers up a trilogy of what appears to be--and I hate to jinx this--relatively hopeful songs about love and life.

As such, Oh Holy Fools is a thoroughly pleasant listening experience that can serve as a comely backdrop to a mellow evening with friends just as well as it can provide the soundtrack for a late night, head-clearing drive alone.

Oh Holy Fools: The Music of Son, Ambulance and Bright Eyes. Saddle Creek Records. Release Date: January 22, 2001. $11.99.