Bright Eyes and Cursive have teamed up on the new mash-up single ‘Recluse I Don’t Have To Love’ – check it out below.
The long-time friends and fellow residents of Omaha, Nebraska are preparing to head out on the road together in the US in April, with Bright Eyes as the headline act on a tour in support of their 2024 album ‘Five Dice, All Threes’.
‘Recluse I Don’t Have To Love’ is a combination of Conor Oberst and co.’s 2002 indie anthem ‘Lover I Don’t Have To Love’ and Cursive’s ‘The Recluse’, from their 2003 album ‘The Ugly Organ’.
All proceeds from the new release will profit the Poison Oak Project, a non-profit set up by Bright Eyes and dedicated to advancing equity for LGBTQ+ people, with particular focus on supporting the trans community. Learn more here.
Listen to the track here:
The artists have been considering making the mash-up since the original songs were first written, with Cursive bassist Matt Maginn’s spouse Carly being a friend of Oberst and suggesting that the two tracks have lyrical and musical similarities.
Bright Eyes’ North American tour is ongoing – see all dates in the post above – and Cursive are opening for them from April 3 to April 27.
In June and July, Bright Eyes bring the show to the UK and Europe, opening at Rock City in Nottingham on June 16. The tour wraps up with two festival appearances – one at Mad Cool in Madrid on July 10 and one at NOS Alive in Lisbon two nights after. Find any remaining tickets here.
‘Five Dice, All Threes’ landed last year to critical acclaim, and it saw Oberst and co. collaborate with artists including Cat Power, The National’s Matt Berninger and the So So Glos’ Alex Orange Drink.
Speaking about the project in an interview with NME, the frontman said: “This time, I still hope the songs resonate and have equal amounts of meaning, but as far as the sounds and approach to the music, it’s a bit lighter.
“The word ‘fun’ is very rarely used to describe my band, but maybe it is a bit more fun,” he continued. “When we last went on tour we were cruising around with a 14-piece band and strings and horns. This record is going to be just guitars; rock and roll stuff.”
