Bright Eyes plans March, April discs

Bright Eyes has set an April release for their next Saddle Creek album. Prior to that an EP titled Four Winds and featuring the first single and five b-sides will be released on March 6th. The record is titled Cassadaga and is due out April 10th, 2007.

After a busy year which included political events, diversity awards and an indie-only live album, the frontman Conor Oberst is promising a different lyrical focus for the new album, eschewing the politics which dominated previous efforts.

The band, which includes Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott along with members of Sleater-Kinney, and drummer Janet Weiss and M. Ward released two albums in 2005, the electric Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and the more traditional country-influenced I'm Wide Awake It's Morning. Those two sold a combined 622,000 copies.