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Oct 18, 2016This album is contemplative and, maybe more important than anything else, stirs you delve into your own mind and those demons we all have.
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Oct 12, 2016Loss in its many forms shades Ruminations, and the matter-of-fact nature of its acceptance makes the record all the more devastating.
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Oct 24, 2016Though these songs were recorded hastily by some standards, their welding of forlorn lyricism and comforting listenability makes the songwriter admirable not just for his craftsmanship, but for his ability to pull through an arduous time with what could be a benchmark album in his already prolific career.
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Oct 18, 2016For good and bad--mostly very good--Ruminations is a vulnerable Conor Oberst cracked open, spilling his soul. Pain is its recurring theme and though Oberst comes close to wallowing in it, the gift is his ability to embrace and absorb it and make it something beautiful.
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Oct 14, 2016It works because Oberst keeps the music moving and doesn’t let his voice over-quiver with rage or sadness. He’s rather calm, and his songwriting is strong as ever.
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Nov 11, 2016The ultimate result of that process remains to be seen, but in the meantime, it has left us with a beautifully rendered, intimately personal collection of very fine songs indeed.
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Nov 7, 2016They’re not as overwrought as the earliest Bright Eyes records--recorded when he was in his teens and early 20s--but they’re just as pure and open-hearted, albeit with the (jaded) wisdom that comes with age, making it arguably his best solo effort yet.
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Q MagazineOct 19, 2016It's the most vital-sounding record he's made in years. [Dec 2016, p.110]
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Oct 18, 2016The rediscovered intimacy suits him--there’s a bracing directness to these songs that’s been lacking over the last decade.
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Oct 14, 2016Oberst’s evocative character studies add intrigue throughout.
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Oct 13, 2016In less capable hands, Ruminations's sad, lonely songs would be mired in abject misery rather than acting as a lugubrious form of catharsis as they do here. Oberst breathes pained, desperate life into his characters.
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UncutOct 6, 2016Everything is carefully weighted and considered, the minimal arrangements helping to foreground these inner lives with poetic candour and convincing detail. [Nov 2016, p.32]
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MagnetOct 18, 2016Ruminations doesn't set out to be a grand statement, but it's all the more rewarding for keeping the focus on Oberst's word-rich language and emotionally direct observations. [No. 136, p.59]
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Oct 12, 2016Ruminations is Oberst’s most emotionally legible work since Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, also defined by its similarly cloistered worldview and sonic cohesion.
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Oct 25, 2016Dark, wandering, and at times even starkly morbid, it’s a record that avows loneliness, presents it honestly, without outright glorifying it.
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Oct 13, 2016The refusal of hope or respite in these songs often makes Ruminations feel like Oberst's Blood on the Tracks.
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Oct 12, 2016Ruminations isn't exactly a stunner--it's too low-key for that--but as a humble mood-piece, it's an engrossing listen. Its best moments are also its darkest ones.
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Oct 10, 2016Ruminations is ultimately a lamenting, low-key record. It’s sobering but never elevates higher than just a sparse collection of gloomy acoustic songs. It took just two days to finish and, for better or worse, that makes a lot of sense.
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Oct 6, 2016Oberst is best when his guard is down, and this album takes seven songs for that to finally happen.
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Oct 14, 2016Ruminations feels like a comedown as such. His first solo album since 2014 ‘Upside Down Mountain’ features only Oberst, a piano, an acoustic guitar and the occasional flash of harmonica. It’s possibly his most reflective, nostalgic work yet.
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Oct 13, 2016It's not the prettiest or easiest of records, nor is it Oberst's finest outing to date, but it does house some real gems, including the emotionally charged opener "Tachycardia," the thoughtful, Dylan-esque "You All Loved Him Once," and the barbed and broken "A Little Uncanny."
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Oct 13, 2016And so it goes for nearly 40 minutes. Clearly, this is not easy listening, but neither is it impenetrable either. Rather, Oberst’s naked presentation and generally obtuse concepts feel genuine and are worth mulling over for a deeper understanding of his expressive and largely enticing thoughts.
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Oct 12, 2016Ruminations is difficult, packed with depression and despair. But closer Till St. Dymphna Kicks Us Out, with its rejuvenating piano, shows us that things haven’t gone completely dark yet.
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Oct 12, 2016Always an unflinchingly open songwriter, Conor Oberst leaves himself even more exposed on Ruminations, where his songs are accompanied just by his own piano, guitar and harmonica.
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MojoOct 6, 2016It features the Bright Eyes/Desaparecidos frontman alone with piano, harmonica and guitar, putting down songs never quite intended as an album. This sparseness means that the focus on Oberst is tight--maybe too tight. [Nov 2016, p.90]
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Oct 6, 2016Ruminations isn’t going to blow anyone away--it’s in the title--but it is a quiet addition to his substantial body of work and this thoughtful set of acoustic songs will certainly keep us warm as winter sets in.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 13 out of 14
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Mixed: 0 out of 14
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Negative: 1 out of 14
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Oct 26, 2016