Bright Eyes and Cursive Release 'Recluse I Don't Have to Love' Mashup

03-31-2025

(TOC) Omaha, Nebraska - the home of Warren Buffet, Malcolm X, JoJo Siwa, and Marlon Brando - and of course, Bright Eyes and Cursive. Today, those two icons of American indie rock have released "Recluse I Don't Have to Love," a mashup of their modern classic fan favorites "Lover I Don't Have To Love" and "The Recluse."

Many moons ago, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst was hanging there with some of his Cursive comrades, messing around on the piano, playing a rendition of the 2002 licentious anthem "Lover I Don't Have To Love." Best bud Carly (spouse to Cursive's Matt Maginn) pointed out the musical hook and libertine similarities between that song's lyrics and "The Recluse" by her husband's band. For years it was an inside joke - "should we make a mashup, just for fun?" And now, on the eve of Bright Eyes' North American tour with Cursive, the Kash-up mashup dream has become a reality. And it weirdly works. Carly was right.

This amalgamation of debauchery, titled "Recluse I Don't Have To Love," is available now - EXCLUSIVELY - on both the Bright Eyes and Cursive Bandcamp pages.