Well, if you believe his hometown paper, The Omaha World-Herald (via Pitchfork), then the answer is yes.
The report stems from comments made by Robb Nansel, the President of Saddle Creek Records, aka the longtime label of Oberst/Bright Eyes. According to Nansel, “[Oberst]’s going to record stuff over the winter and in the spring” for what appears to be the final Bright Eyes album.
“My guess, based on what he’s expressed to me, is that there will be one more Bright Eyes record and that will probably be it,” Nansel said. “I think that’s his line of thinking at this point — closing the chapter on that moniker. I think he feels like Bright Eyes has a certain association, for better or worse. I think he’s trying to distance himself a little bit from what that means to people.”
Of course, this jives with Oberst’s recent comments to Rolling Stone about his longtime project. “It does feel like it needs to stop at some point,” he is quoted as saying. “I’d like to clean it up, lock the door, say goodbye.”
Whatever his decision may be, the 29-year-old singer/songwriter still has a lot on his plate, highlighted by the forthcoming release of the Monsters of Folk.