When the ever-elusive Bright Eyes, a.k.a. Conor Oberst, stopped by our New York studios for a Sessions taping, he got a little help from friend M. Ward. The avant-folk Ward chimed in on the final two songs, including the hushed duet, 'Smoke Without Fire.' While the two seem kindreds now, Oberst tells Spinner it was completely happenstance.

"I was on tour with Desarecidos, which is an old band of mine, and we had to kick the bass player out," he says. "And the only thing we could agree on to listen to in the van was M. Ward. We got to Portland and it was sort of agreed the I'd play solo. But we were supposed to play with all these kind of loud bands. Long story short, I called up a booking agent friend of mine and he said, 'Well, you know, M. Ward lives in Portland. We could call him.' And then 20 minutes later, he jumps in the van and drives to San Francisco. Friends ever since."

Watch the Bright Eyes Sessions performance.