Cassadaga (album)

Cassadaga
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 9, 2007[1]
Recorded2006
StudioNew York City; Portland, Oregon; and Lincoln, Nebraska[2]
Genre
Length62:05
LabelSaddle Creek
ProducerMike Mogis
Bright Eyes chronology
Four Winds
(2007)
Cassadaga
(2007)
The People's Key
(2011)
Singles from Cassadaga
  1. "Four Winds"
    Released: March 6, 2007
  2. "Hot Knives" / "If the Brakeman Turns My Way"
    Released: July 9, 2007
Singles from Cassadaga: A Companion
  1. "Middleman (Companion version)"
    Released: May 9, 2023
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The A.V. ClubB−[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[6]
The Guardian[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)A−[9]
NME8/10[10]
Pitchfork6.0/10[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Spin[13]

Cassadaga is the eighth studio album by Bright Eyes, released in the UK on April 9, 2007, and in the US on April 10. Around 25 to 30 songs were recorded in 2006,[14] with 13 of these appearing on the final track list. The album is named after the town of Cassadaga, Florida.[15] Z Berg of the Like, Sherri DuPree and Stacy King of Eisley, and singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata all appear on this album. The first single, "Four Winds", was released on March 6, 2007, taken from the Four Winds EP, which contains five B-sides not on Cassadaga.[2]

Cassadaga debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, becoming the band's highest-charting album in the US, and sold about 58,000 copies in its first week.[16] It went on to sell over 231,000 units in US.[17] The album is the 103rd release of Saddle Creek Records. This album was number 12 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.[18] Cassadaga reached number 13 on the UK Albums Chart in April 2007.[19]

The first single from the album, "Four Winds", can be heard in the background briefly during the party scene in the 2008 film Cloverfield.

The album was reissued by Dead Oceans alongside a six-track companion EP on June 16, 2023.[20]

  1. ^ Keefe, Michael (April 10, 2007). "Bright Eyes: Cassadaga". PopMatters. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Bright Eyes Bio". Saddle Creek Records LBJ-103. 2006. Archived from the original on February 6, 2007. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
  3. ^ "Reviews for Cassadaga by Bright Eyes". Metacritic. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  4. ^ Brown, Marisa. "Cassadaga – Bright Eyes". AllMusic. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  5. ^ Murray, Noel (April 10, 2007). "Bright Eyes: Cassadaga / Four Winds". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  6. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (April 9, 2007). "Cassadaga". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  7. ^ Simpson, Dave (April 6, 2007). "Bright Eyes, Cassadaga". The Guardian. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  8. ^ Cromelin, Richard (April 8, 2007). "Conor Oberst sails into the mystic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  9. ^ Christgau, Robert (September 2007). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  10. ^ Martin, Dan (April 11, 2007). "Bright Eyes: Cassadaga". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  11. ^ Howe, Brian (April 9, 2007). "Bright Eyes: Cassadaga". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert (April 2, 2007). "Cassadaga". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  13. ^ Maerz, Melissa (April 2007). "Old at Heart". Spin. 23 (4): 89. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  14. ^ Katie Hasty (April 9, 2006). "Bright Eyes Gets Busy On New Album". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
  15. ^ "Cassadaga". Saddle Creek Records. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2007.
  16. ^ Katie Hasty, "'NOW' Remains No. 1 As Bright Eyes Debuts High", Billboard.com, April 18, 2007.
  17. ^ Ugwu, Reggie (April 28, 2014). "Conor Oberst: The Ex Boy Wonder of Indie Rock Moves to a Major Label". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  18. ^ Robert Christgau, David Fricke, Christian Hoard, Rob Sheffield (December 17, 2007). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 20, 2007
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference UK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Corcoran, Nina (May 9, 2023). "Bright Eyes Announce "Companion" Reissues of Cassadaga, Noise Floor, and The People's Key". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2023.