I swear they said the car was in lot FU...
Conor Oberst released a self-titled album back in early August when yours truly was on a much needed vacation. I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't get a chance to review it, even belatedly. Conor recorded it in Mexico with his newest project The Mystic Valley Band which includes Jason Boesel, drummer for Rilo Kiley (and also his band The Elected). Jason has also drummed for Bright Eyes on tour and did some work on one of my favorite albums of 2007 Cassadaga.
For such a young career Conor has been with more musicians than Pamela Anderson. Back in 1995, he started the band Commander Venus with Tim Kasher who later launched The Good Life on Conor's Saddle Creek Records label. Tom Fink, also in the Commander Venus, started another band with Conor named Norman Bailer which later became The Faint. In 1996, Conor was also in a band called Park Ave which included Neely Jenkins and Jamie Williams, both now with Tilly and The Wall. Late last year Conor spoke of starting a side project with M. Ward of She and Him although that has yet to materialize. His main band, Bright Eyes is a loose group of who's who indie musicians and friends from around his hometown of Omaha.
So, now that we're up to speed, let's review his new self titled record. First of all, if you like Conor or Bright Eyes, you should definitely like this. The music styles are varied enough on this album that it should have something for everyone. His insightful and honest lyrics are top notch here and fit the musical styles. For example, in "Danny Callahan" he implores us to believe in yourself and not everything people tell us:
So stop reading the weather charts.
Stop counting the playing cards. There's no system, there's no guarantee
That the love you feel and carry inside can be passed
and later he reminds of our vulnerabilities:
But even Western medicine,
it couldn't save Danny Callahan.
Bad bone marrow, a bald little boy.
But the love he feels he carries inside can be passed.
He lay still,
his mother kissed him goodbye, said 'comeback.'
Where are you going to, alone?
Where are you going off...alone!!
Musically, there is a nice variety, such as the high pitched guitar driven "Souled Out", the alt-country neo-Dylan imitation (without the snarl) "Get Well Cards", the Tom Petty meets Grateful Dead travelogue "Moab" or the rollicking uptempo "Sausalito" where he casually flirts with getting away from it all:
we should move to Sausalito
living's easy on a house boat
let the ocean rock us back and forth to sleep
living's easy on a house boat
let the ocean rock us back and forth to sleep
as if heaven has been laid there at our feet.
in the morning with the sunrise
look in the water see the blue sky
in the morning with the sunrise
look in the water see the blue sky
Rating (7.5/10)
Here's some cuts from the new CD and some recent songs from his pals:
Enjoy, GB.
on September 23rd. The album is an instrumental soundtrack of their childhood memories in Scandinavia. There are some voices sprinkled in the mix, but they are monologues from native residents. Some songs feature African and Brazilian musical styles, some are more romantic and dreamy, but very little whistling to be found this time.
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on horns on “Red Dress” and Katrina Ford of 
with harmonies on "Lover's Day". This one should expand upon one of my favorites of 2006 
on CD today. The album is produced by Tom Schick, who has worked with Ryan Adams, Norah Jones, and Rufus Wainwright. This is their second full length release.
which caught the attention of the bloggers for "Resurrection Song". In 2006, they released their first full length CD 
with the help of producer Bradley Cook (Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age) which garnered mostly glowing reviews from the critics.
. The Tripwire once said to “imagine Modest Mouse in a mosh pit intermittently bashing listeners over the head with a banjo”. About the repeating Modest Mouse reference, Peter said in an early interview "we have one song on our EP that had like a bendy guitar note and it was one of the songs where I go for a little more vocals in terms of screaming, and all of a sudden, people heard that, were like, Ok, there's a bendy guitar note and a scream, Modest Mouse!" Perhaps guitarist David Klein summed up their music best saying "our main goal is to rock so hard one of us faints."
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