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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.
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