''Conor Oberst'' is the fourth solo studio album by

Conor Oberst Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes (band), Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos (band), Desaparecidos, the Faint (previou ...

, of the band Bright Eyes, which was released on August 4, 2008 by

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expand ...

. The album debuted on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

at #37 and reached #15 on the

Billboard Top 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular Album, music albums and extended play, EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an recor ...

. It sold 98,000 copies in the US as of August 2009.

Production

The album was recorded in

Tepoztlán Tepoztlán () is a town in the central Mexican state of Morelos. It is located at in the heart of the Tepoztlán Valley. The town serves as the seat of government for the municipality of the same name. The town had a population of 14,130 inhabit ...

Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

between January and February 2008. A temporary studio was created in a mountain villa called Valle Místico at the outskirts of town. ''Conor Oberst'' was produced by Conor Oberst and engineered by long-time associate

Andy LeMaster Andy LeMaster is an American musician, songwriter, engineer, and producer from Athens, Georgia. Now It's Overhead is the primary project for his own songwriting, while he also releases music under his own name and contributes as a co-writer on v ...

. A new band was assembled for the recording, which came to be known as The Mystic Valley Band. The result is Oberst's fourth solo album, and his first in twelve years, following ''

Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

'' (1993), '' Here's to Special Treatment'' (1994) and '' The Soundtrack to My Movie'' (1996). In that time he has recorded and performed in many bands and musical projects including

Commander Venus Commander Venus was an American emo band from Omaha, Nebraska. Fronted by Conor Oberst and Tim Kasher, the band also included Todd Fink and Matt Bowen of The Faint, Ben Armstrong of Head of Femur and Robb Nansel, executive producer of the i ...

, Park Ave.,

Desaparecidos An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a State (polity), state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the i ...

, and most notably Bright Eyes. The song "Moab" was number 31 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.

Track listing

All songs by

, except where noted. #"Cape Canaveral" – 4:04 #"Sausalito" – 3:10 #"Get-Well-Cards" – 3:33 #"Lenders in the Temple" – 4:35 #"Danny Callahan" – 3:58 #"I Don’t Want to Die (In the Hospital)" – 3:32 #"Eagle on a Pole" – 4:42 #"NYC - Gone, Gone" – 1:11 #"Moab" – 3:36 #"Valle Místico (Ruben’s Song)" (Ruben Mendez Hernandez) – 0:49 #"Souled Out!!!" (Oberst,

Jason Boesel Jason Lyon Boesel (born August 17, 1977) is an American musician, songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles. He was the drummer for Rilo Kiley and has also played with The Elected and Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. Bands He also ...

) – 3:32 #"Milk Thistle" – 5:21

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' said that on the album, "Conor sounds like Bright Eyes, only heightened--brighter, if you will: He's emo balladeer, country rocker, and ferocious folkie rolled into one."Tucker, Ken (August 8, 2008), "Conor Oberst". ''Entertainment Weekly''. (1005)

Track information

*The seventh track, "Eagle on a Pole", was inspired by a comment made by Sean Foley who said, "I saw an eagle on a pole. I think it was an eagle."

Simon Joyner Simon Joseph Joyner (born 9 August 1971) is an American singer-songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska. He has influenced the music of Bright Eyes, Kevin Morby and Gillian Welch. In the early 1990s, Beck listed Joyner in his top 10 albums when asked b ...

, friend and mentor of Oberst, said that line would be great for a song, which planted the seed for others in the band to write a song from the line. Oberst's version is on this record.

's version is on the second album released by the Mystic Valley Band, '' Outer South''.

Personnel

– guitar, vocals, electric guitar (5), 12-string guitar (9), stomp (8) *

Nate Walcott Nate Walcott (born March 6, 1978) is an American musical composer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, and trumpeter. He has composed the scores for several feature-length films, including 2014's ''The Fault in Our Stars''. He is a member of the ba ...

– organ (3, 4), piano (5, 6), electric piano (7, 8, 9) * Nik Freitas – electric guitar (2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11), vocals (3, 4, 5, 8, 9) * Macey Taylor – bass (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11), vocals (2), stomp (8) * Taylor Hollingsworth – guitar (3), electric guitar (6), vocals (8), stomp (8) *

– drums (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11), percussion (2, 9), vocals (3, 7, 8, 9, 11), stomp (8) *

– tape echo (11), vocals (3, 4, 8) * Phil Schaffart – vocals (8), stomp (8) *

Janet Weiss Janet Lee Weiss (born September 24, 1965) is an American rock drummer, a member of Quasi (band), Quasi and former member of Sleater-Kinney. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album ''Mirror Traffic'', and co ...

– vocals (6) * Corina Figueroa-Escamilla – vocals (11) * Ruben Mendez Hernandez – conch (10)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2008 albums Conor Oberst albums Merge Records albums