Bright Eyes are back with a homage to ska, new single ‘1st World Blues’

Bright Eyes have shared new single ‘1st World Blues’, accompanied by a music video directed by Jared Sherbert with animations from Sparks Studios.

The track marks a new sonic direction for the band, while the video, filmed in Brooklyn, NY, features appearances from professional skater Nelly Morville, The So So Glos, and producer Adam Reich, alongside newcomer Butter the dog.

“‘1st World Blues’ is an homage to ska in all its waves,” Bright Eyes say. “From Desmond Decker to Tim Armstrong, we’re just happy to add our track to the bin. The video is inspired by NYC 90s hip hop, which like ska, has a long tradition of unifying people & using celebratory music to convey subversive political themes. To be played loud. Windows down. Summertime.”

Earlier this year, the band marked the 25th anniversary of their 2000 album ‘Fevers & Mirrors’ with a new recording of ‘A Song To Pass The Time’, released exclusively on Bandcamp. They also collaborated with Cursive on ‘Recluse I Don’t Have to Love’, a mashup combining their track ‘Lover I Don’t Have To Love’ with Cursive’s ‘The Recluse’.

The dates in full read:

AUGUST
26 Libbey Bowl, Ojai, USA
27 Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Sonoma, USA
28 McMenamins Grand Lodge, Forest Grove, USA
29 Malkin Bowl, Vancouver, Canada
30 Bumbershoot 2025, Seattle, USA

SEPTEMBER
1 Treefort Music Hall, Boise, USA
2 The Depot, Salt Lake City, USA
3 House of Blues Las Vegas, Las Vegas, USA

NOVEMBER
27 Capitol Theatre, Singapore, Singapore

DECEMBER
3 Yogibo META VALLEY, Osaka, Japan
4 EX THEATER ROPPONGI, Tokyo, Japan