At least temporarily dropping the band name Bright Eyes, which Omaha native Conor Oberst has recorded under since his mid-teens, CONOR OBERST serves as a reintroduction to the singer-songwriter. From the lack of album title to the minimalist cover photograph of the Conor lounging in a hammock, this album is at the same time free of artifice and deliberately reminiscent of the singer-songwriters of the 1970s. With folk and country elements increasingly prominent in his work recently, the move is neither unexpected nor out of character, and as a whole, CONOR OBERST is both a worthy successor to Bright Eyes’ brilliant 2007 release CASSADEGA and one of his strongest albums, period. Recorded in the rural Mexican village of Tepoztlan with his new band the Mystic Valley Band, CONOR OBERST has the stripped-down, laid-back feel of vintage early ’70s Laurel Canyon, halfway between Neil Young and Jackson Browne. Particular highlights include the magical country-rock road song “Moab”, the impassioned character study “I Don’t Want To Die (In A Hospital).” and the wonderful album closer “Milk Thistle.”

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.90) – 3.5 stars out of 5 — “A rough-hewn, death-haunted travelogue….Largely, this is the introspective folk rock of Bright Eyes, though there’s some welcome shift away from autobiography…”
Rolling Stone (p.91) – Ranked #23 in Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums Of 2008 — “Tracks like ‘I Don’t Want to Die (In the Hospital)’ feel like lost Hank Williams demos.”

Spin (p.114) – 3.5 stars out of 5 — “[T]he whole thing gels remarkably well: Each mood lets the other breathe….Bookend tracks ‘Cape Canaveral’ and the heartbreaking ‘Milk Thistle’ strike slow, sad notes, offering the naked vulnerability that inspires fans devotion and Dylan comparisons.’

Entertainment Weekly (p.67) – “[T]his collection is admirably vivid about the melancholy of both romantic love and the world containing it.” — Grade: B+

Q (Magazine) (p.105) – 4 stars out of 5 — “[T]he playing here has an ease to it….One has the sense of a front porch at twilight, the singing of cicadas and the smell of smoke in the air.”

Blender (Magazine) (p.80) – 4 stars out of 5 — “Oberst always projects a spiritual generosity unknown to most footloose troubadours who can’t commit.”

Clash (magazine) (p.114) – “[T]he songs roll along wonderfully, as the deeply intelligent and intricate lyrics tumble from the singer’s mouth.”