Watch Bright Eyes Give First Colbert Performance in Nine Years

The last time Bright Eyes played a show together, it was almost 10 years ago in Honolulu. In the years that followed, the group went on hiatus while frontman Conor Oberst shifted through solo work and side projects.

But back in January of this year, Bright Eyes’ long dormant social media accounts began to tease their first new music since 2011’s The People’s Key. New singles trickled out; a reunion tour was announced; and shows spanning Asia, Europe and North America were set only to be canceled in the wake of COVID-19.

Nevertheless, Bright Eyes announced a new album yesterday, Down in The Weeds Where The World Once Was, and performed the announcement’s accompanying single, “Mariana Trench,” on Colbert last night. Oberst, Mogis and Walcott seem tight as ever, and get help from backup singers and a horn section along with a bassist and drummer. Whether we’ll get to see Bright Eyes on an actual stage soon, only time will tell. But until then, we can all enjoy Oberst rocking his shaggy hair and leather gloves from the safety of our screens.

Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was is out on August 21. Preorder here.