I know that the splintered voice of Conor Oberst isn’t for everyone, but for those who’ve felt the warmth from the moans of Fevers & Mirrors, the happy-sad feeling of Lifted, the somewhat conditioned disappointment of Cassadaga, this is big news.

It seems, to my heart’s content (and to that of many others), Oberst still hasn’t gotten his fill from the Mystic Valley Band, nor from his ferociously folk counterparts. So with this, the heard-about-but-never-seen Yeti of a Bright Eyes album now has a concrete release date!

Oberst rounds up a few old faces, longtime band mate Nathaniel Walcott and producer (as well as a fellow MOF member) Mike Mogis to bring us (drum roll…) _The People’s Key. _It’s Bright Eyes’ seventh studio album and will be available February 15, 2011.

Here’s the track list… I never really understood why this is important to include so prematurely, but when you got the goods, show ‘em.

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The indie-folk heroes from Seattle are at it once again, this time performing in and around Paris, France for La Blogotheque‘s Take Away Show. In this raw performance, Fleet Foxes show us just how versatile they really are. They perform two songs in this clip: “Sun Giant,” which is off of Sun Giant EP, and “Blue Ridge Mountains,” which is off of their self-titled debut album.

“Sun Giant” sounds great, but “Blue Ridge Mountains” sounds utterly remarkable, due to the acoustics. The unbelievably high ceilings and concrete floors/walls of an abandoned section of the Grand Palais (a huge exhibition hall in Paris that was built over 100 years ago) help create the cathedral-like sound. Whenever I listened to Fleet Foxes, I always imagined them recording in a place like this for some reason. I think it’s because they always tend to sing acappella in the middle of a song, and it sounds echoey, like in a cathedral. Anyway, take a look at the video.

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