The beginning of Digital Ash in a Digital Urn bears the essence of an artist who has just bought his or her first turntable and put it to use by mixing Bright Eyes with Lali Puna. Here, the sound is choppy and unnatural and leans too heavily on its electronic influence, Jimmy Tamborello of The Postal Service, who assisted heavy-handedly on several tracks. Next to its twin album, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, the listener senses that in Digital Ash's first few tracks, Conor Oberst is hiding behind the metallic wall of electro-pop.

However, the album becomes more cohesive and unaffected as it pushes forward. With help from Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the second load of tracks pans out with a dynamic punch, hitting a high point with "Take it Easy (Love Nothing)." Oberst begins to sound like a true pop singer (some critics even went so far as to throw out a comparison to David Bowie), backed by the clarity and sincere nature of his lyrics: what makes these songs stand out from the flood of electronic pop songs of late is that, beneath the synths and dance beats, they still retain that feeling of closeness that Bright Eyes seems to be unable to avoid. Listening is always accompanied by the sensation of sitting face to face across a kitchen table from Oberst, even as he delivers his diatribes through experimental breaks and digital production.