With The People's Key, Bright Eyes largely let go of acoustic americana. The album leans on electric guitars, synthesizers and tight rhythms, broken up by spoken passages from Denny Brewer, singer of Refried Ice Cream, holding forth on reptilian aliens and the nature of time. "Shell Games" and "Jejune Stars" were released as singles. Recorded at ARC Studios in Omaha with Mike Mogis producing, it originally came out in February 2011 on Saddle Creek and entered the Billboard 200 at number 13, after which it stayed the band's most recent album for nine years.

This edition is an LP on tangerine orange vinyl.