Conor Oberst has reunited with his longtime pals The So So Glos. The Bright Eyes frontman features on “Everywhere Is War,” the new single out now from the Brooklyn rockers.
Rather than the garagey, surfy punk by which The So So Glos made their name, “Everywhere Is War” is a poppier number primarily backed with a spunky piano riff. It’s difficult to even recognize Oberst’s trademark constantly-on-the-verge-of-tears vocals, too, as it’s been doused in T-Pain levels of Auto-Tune. Soon enough, though, the track has you humming along.
But despite its sunny exterior, “Everywhere Is War” has a much darker meaning, its title paying homage to Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie’s 1963 address to the UN (which also served as the basis for Bob Marley’s song “War”).
“The cover, shot by Bill Biggart, documents a rioter in Northern Ireland in 1989,” The So So Glos said of the song on Instagram. “We remember Bill — who passed on 9/11 in NYC taking photos of the towers collapse. We also remember Heather Danielle Hyer who was killed in Charlottesville in 2017 during the tragic events that inspired this track. The song is dedicated to anyone who has ever suffered under unjust war and senseless violence.”
Listen to The So So Glos and Conor Oberst team up on “Everywhere Is War” below.
The So So Glos’ last album was 2016’s Kamikaze, but vocalist Alex Zarou Levine has since put out some solo music including 2021’s Everything Is Broken, Maybe That’s OK. Oberst has a few more tour dates coming up this spring with Bright Eyes, and you can get tickets via Stubhub.