Conor Oberst never thought his bands' previous records sounded like country, but even if they did, that's not what the new Bright Eyes album is going to be all about.

"We're over the Americana, rootsy, whatever that sound is. People say country, but I never thought were very country at all," Oberst told Billboard this week, speaking on Bright Eyes' forthcoming "The People's Key." "But whatever that element is or that aesthetic is, I guess it's worn a little thin for me these days. So we very much wanted it to be rocking and, for lack of a better term, contemporary, or modern."

As previously reported, "Key" is out on Feb. 15 and is the follow-up to Bright Eyes' 2007 "Cassadega." Which was totally Americana, rootsy, country.