Listen to Bright Eyes cover Elliott Smith’s “St. Ides Heaven” for reissue series

Bright Eyes have covered Elliott Smith’s “St. Ides Heaven” for their Letting Off The Happiness: A Companion special release – listen below.

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Last month the band, comprising Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Nate Walcot, announced they will reissue all nine of their studio albums along with a Companion EP for each LP featuring new recordings of songs from the original release. A cover version from an artist the band found particularly inspiring at the time accompanies each reissue.

Yesterday (March 22) the band shared their Smiths cover for their 1998 album’s reissue, which lands with the new release on May 27. Bright Eyes’ first three albums – A Collection Of Songs Written And Recorded 1995-1997, 1998’s Letting Off The Happiness and 2000 LP Fevers And Mirrors arrive on the same May date.

In February the band shared new recordings of “Falling Out Of Love At This Volume”, “Contrast And Compare” featuring Waxahatchee, and “Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh” with Phoebe Bridgers from the six-track Companion EPs.

“It’s a meaningful way to connect with the past that doesn’t feel totally nostalgic and self-indulgent,” frontman Oberst said previously of the series. “We are taking these songs and making them interesting to us all over again. I like that. I like a challenge. I like to be forced to do something that’s slightly hard, just to see if we can.”

The band have also announced a series of UK, Ireland and shows in Europe kicking off in London on August 30. Their tour will also call at Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Dublin. You can find more info and purchase tickets here.

The band also covered Thin Lizzy’s “Running Back” for a charity campaign in January.