Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
Outer South
Merge
out May 5th
[50]
[Rating Scale]
[rating:50/100]
Fans of Bright Eyes will find that they might not necessarily like Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. More specifically, they might find themselves highly disappointed in Outer South. For starters, seven of the album tracks aren’t even sung by Oberst. Not to mention that six out of those seven aren’t even written by him. But, those who were never quite fond of Bright Eyes might find something enjoyable with his latest endeavor.
Opening track, “Slowly (Oh So Slowly),” is a catchy down south rock jam that gets you somewhat interested, but not much more than that. “Dementia, you better treat me good,” sings Oberst, while fans of Conor hope for the same thing from him and the album, but most likely to disappointment. Lyrically, it’s still very much Conor Oberst (I mean this in a positive way). And I’m sure that’s become a standard everyone expects Oberst to meet, and he usually does.
Admittedly, I feel it almost unfair to judge this particular album based on his previous work considering the fact that he’s no longer the prominent lead he always was in Bright Eyes. Still, it’s not The Mystic Valley Band featuring Conor Oberst so one can’t help but hope for more.
I also probably shouldn’t knock it to The Mystic Valley Band because it’s not that they’re not talented. In fact, I really dig “Big Black Nothing”—one of the non-Oberst tracks. There are a lot of neat backup vocals, piano melodies & hand claps throughout the song. The following track, on the other hand, could easily be scrapped. I find the vocals and synth in “Air Mattress” to be rather annoying.
There are a couple of songs reminiscent of Cassadaga , which I found to be a far better album including “Ten Women” and “White Shows.” The latter of which is typical Oberst: bare acoustic guitar, quavering vocals & soulful lyrics. Clearly, I’m more a fan of Bright Eyes than Oberst’s solo work. But all in all it seems like Oberst has shed some of his skin and started to have a little more fun. He’s begun separating himself from the angst ridden Bright Eyes to a more mature and, dare I say, fun loving, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. The consequence: old fans might be disappointed. But perhaps over time this will grow on you too.
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Tags: conor oberst
Love Conor and loving the new songs. Really enjoy his work on both of these albums. He’s really growing and trying new sounds. Mystic Valley Band rocks
I’d actually LOVE to meet a 5th grader that could write that.
This review reads like it was written by a 5th grader.
I really liked the entire album (with the exception of 10 Women, which just kind of puts me to sleep). There are some real catchy tunes to listen to (Cabbage Town/Spoiled) both of which are sung by Conor. The other members of the band are also really talented singer/songwriters. Nik Freitas’ Big Black Nothing is fantastic. Also, I don’t know if anyone else noticed this, but Conor seems really happy when he is playing with the Mystic Valley Band. That really has nothing to do with the album. Just saying.
Not being much of a Bright Eyes fan, with the exception of half a dozen tracks neatly tucked away on various mixes, I found myself drawn to this record more than Conor’s previous work.
I can understand older fans having trouble adjusting, as this was (dare I say) a fun record… with most of the angst wrapped tightly into “Roosevelt Room” – possibly the sharpest political song I’ve heard since Ted Leo’s “Bomb.Repeat.Bomb.”
And yeah, “Air Mattress” does follow the recent trend of incorporating synths galore, but the song was simply too fun to sneer at… It’s like a love child between Paul Westerberg’s “Let’s Not Belong Together” and Sondre Lerche’s “She’s Fantastic.”
While I don’t think the record is earth-shattering, I thought it was a solid record and deserving of better than a 50. Perfect for this time of year.
I like seeing a different sound from Connor, I have greatly enjoyed his work in Bright Eyes. I like the upbeat sound of “Big Black Nothing” and will check out the other songs.
From what I have heard, this album is a nice change.
I saw Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band play late last year and it was more then wonderful – I really enjoyed it.
I remember they played ten women, which I had not heard at the time and it was even better live.
It seems an easy album to listen to (unlike some of Conor Obersts pervious works) and Conors voice seems to have become more simple (a good thing!) and consistent! It’s still beautiful and I can’t get enough.
Although I am a big Oberst fan, I still like the tracks on the album not featuring his voice and think the songs work together nicely.
You can probably tell, I like this album a lot : D
I’ve liked a lot more of Conor Oberst’s recent endeavors (“Nikorette”, “Four Winds”) than I thought I would. I’m looking forward to checking out the new album.
It’s great that he’s lightening up and having fun and all, but I really felt this album lacked substance. They definitely didn’t write anymore tracks than were on the album. Pretty sure the conversation went, “Hey, we wrote like 16 songs the past four days, let’s put ‘em to tape! Cool!”