Comments on: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band – Outer South, Album Review & Giveaway

By: sean

sean — Sun, 24 May 2009 03:17:26 +0000

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

By: Half Note

Half Note — Sun, 24 May 2009 00:41:39 +0000

I’d actually LOVE to meet a 5th grader that could write that.

By: mike

mike — Sat, 23 May 2009 23:29:30 +0000

This review reads like it was written by a 5th grader.

By: Adrien Hunter

Adrien Hunter — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:58:23 +0000

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.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:31:03 +0000

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.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:46:21 +0000

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.

By: Jodie

Jodie — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:27:34 +0000

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

By: Justin

Justin — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:23:26 +0000

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.

By: Curt

Curt — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:11:13 +0000

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!”