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- Record Label: Merge
- Release Date: May 5, 2009
- Summary: Conor Oberst's latest solo album is the first to be credited with The Mystic Valley Band.
- Record Label: Merge
- Genre(s): Indie, Rock
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 11 out of 25
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Mixed: 14 out of 25
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Negative: 0 out of 25
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In short, arguably for the first time, Oberst gives us an album rife with liveliness--and it sounds like he had a damn good time making it.
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Q MagazineIt remains to be seen whether this is a long-term diversion for Oberst. But if the Mystic Valley Band is just a brief stop, it's a hugely enjoyable one all the same. [Jun 2009, p.129]
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Oberst himself seems swept up in the motion--he's dropped his vocal affectations, his grandiose couplets, he's happy to be leading a group that feels like a band of brothers--one that might not always sing in the same voice, but share a sensibility, something that gives Outer South a big human heart.
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Outer South is a decently stocked serving of rambling, saloon-joint alt-country, but one that finds the freewheeling Oberst and band in need of a little focus.
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It mostly works: Shave a couple of the non-Conor tracks and it'd sit comfortably with his best.
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It feels a little too soon for this overstuffed, 16-song collection where Oberst's cutting social commentary is dropped into a maelstrom of charging guitars and barroom backing vocals.
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Too often it feels as if they’re all going through the motions, opting to play it safe, while Oberst himself seems bored and uninterested.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 0 out of 1
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Mixed: 1 out of 1
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Negative: 0 out of 1
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SAmMay 12, 2009Boring!
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