Album · Bright Eyes
The People’s Key by Bright Eyes
The People’s Key is an album by Bright Eyes, released in 2011. 1 song from it has charted on rock radio countdowns, with 7 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Shell Games”, on 7 lists with a best position of #11.
The People's Key, Bright Eyes' ninth studio album, arrived on Saddle Creek in February 2011, cut at ARC Studios in the band's home base of Omaha with Mike Mogis producing and engineering alongside Andy LeMaster. The core trio of Conor Oberst, Mogis and trumpet-and-piano man Nate Walcott called in a crowd of guests: LeMaster, Cursive's Matt Maginn, the Faint's Clark Baechle, Autolux's Carla Azar, the Mynabirds' Laura Burhenn and more.
It's a restless, searching record, and the lyrics wander into Rastafarian territory, name-checking Haile Selassie and the Lion of Judah. NPR streamed it in full before release. It turned out to be the last Bright Eyes album on Saddle Creek; the band didn't announce its return, on Dead Oceans, until 2020, and in 2023 that label reissued The People's Key with a six-track companion EP.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from The People’s Key on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shell Games | 7 | #11 | – | 2011 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.