I keep death at my heels like a bassett hound

Today I took the time to listen to Conor Oberst’s sideproject. With help from The Mystic Valley Band he released a self titled album on August 5, 2008. It’s a little hard to understand that this album was recorded in only a one month-period. Aside from Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s “Lie Down In the Light” this is my favourite record released this summer, so far.

I read a comment on some blog, concerning Conor Oberst,  where someone had written “this guy should just kill himself”. I say we’re lucky are that he is still around and writing songs about making it here. I like his approach on this record, it’s like he is more content with himself. He sounds brave.  I’ve always liked how he doesn’t conceal that it hurts to sing about certain things, but on this record it doesn’t seem as painful to sing about life. He has a new found perspective on things it seems. One of my favourite songs is the neurotic “I don’t Want To Die (in a hospital)”. The Mystic Valley Band creates an uplifting cabaret sound while Conor blurts out dim lit lyrics that in his book may be the most positive to date. The Bruce Springsteen piano is a nice feature as well.

The Mystic Valley Band do for Conor what The Sadies did for Neko Case; they create the perfect sound and bring out something that you didn’t know was missing.

Another favourite is “Lenders In the Temple”. It’s a beautiful song with Conor, his guitar and an organ playing somewhere in the distance. I love the heartfelt lyrics and how simplistic it is. Then again, I’m a sucker for lo-fi songs with simplistic arrangements.

Conor Oberst is such a great guitarist and the way he plays accompanies his voice so well. I think it’s his great sense of rhythm that makes the acoustic guitar so effective when it comes to potraying his lyrics.

The last song on the record, “Milk Thistle”, makes me want to cry. I don’t have time to cry, because Conor makes me focus on the lyrics. This song sums up the whole mental state of the record; a disposition that is not sunny but from where you can at least see the light force its way through the cracks.

I think 5/5.

The whole album is streamable here.

~ by Tina on August 19, 2008.