Review-Conor Oberst-Outer South

Last year Conor Oberst dissolved Bright Eyes and embarked on a solo career. His self titled debut last year of laid back folk rock glorifying life on the road was a tremendous shift from the much more dour and introspective Bright Eyes material. Now Oberst has gone one step further into the unfamiliar by making a true band album with his new traveling buddies The Mystic Valley Band. All the band members are involved with the songwriting...even the drummer manages two songwriting credits. This album was written very quickly on a short tour in Mexico and as you would expect these cuts are filled with a freewheeling sense of newfound possibilities. Unfortunately this also means that one too many songs is noticably self indulgent...not suprising since you have these guys kicking the songs back and forth in the studio before recording them quickly for posterity.

Oberst is always inclined to stick with his initial ideas and his instincts are usually correct. The loose vibe with everyone contributing actually enhances Conor's songs. For Example on "Slowly" we have Conor singing about taking life in the slow lane...lounging in the pool literally letting life pass him by. This laid back and happy vibe is so out of character for Oberst it may be a bit of a shock for Bright Eyes fans...but it does actually work. There is some angst to be found here..."White Shoes" is a desperate lover's plea and "Roosevelt Room" is a left wing political rant that borders on apocalyptic.

The rest of the band is not harboring any hitherto untapped songwriter genius. The songs contributed by the rest of the band are simply decent throwaways. As you might expect the albums strongest moments come when the band is sympathetically backing Oberst on his own songs. In fact that combination of that jangly sixties folk-rock and mini organ sound coupled with Oberst's new found preference for a more relaxed pace provide the album's best moments. Oberst is to be commended for putting his ego aside and letting the band have the spotlight...it proves he can be a nice guy...

"Outer South" 3 out of 5 stars An interesting experiment