Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - Outer South (Saddle Creek)
2/5
By: Stephen Maughan
BUY DOWNLOADThere's a part in the new film, the enjoyable One Of My Kind, documenting the recording of Outer South where the Mystic Valley Band members sit around starry-eyed and say how much of a honour it is to work with a "genius" like Conor, how he is such a nice guy who cares so much for his friends, and how he has such a good heart for letting them play on this album and write and record their own songs on it.
Good news for all us romantics who fell for Conor's charm way back on Fevers and Mirrors that he turned out to be such a nice guy, but bad news for anyone who cares about his music - for being nice isn't the same as being good.
Let's get to the truth. Of the 16 songs here, six of them you can either skip or not bother to download. The harsh truth is these six songs were written and sung by members of the MVB, and are at best forgettable and at worst plain awful. Taylor Hollingsworth's 'Air Mattress' is by far the worst song here, written, as Taylor so eloquently explains in the film, after falling asleep on an air mattress next to a girl. As the air went out of the mattress he woke up to find himself closer to the girl then when he fell asleep. He then tells us with a beer in hand "that is a good thing". Sweet. Hey, last night I fell asleep in the back of a car and woke up to find my head on the delicate shoulder of a pretty girl. I then wrote a poem about the experience. Can we move on now to Connor's songs?
Ten songs. Still enough for a decent album, but for the former Wunderkind who gave us the faultless Lifted... and so beautifully questioned his own morality on Cassadaga, it's a bit of a let down. The MVB feel like a bar band, and it's hard to get excited about their safe, rocky style. Still a few nice songs offer a glimpse of redemption, such as the feel-good 'To All the Lights in the Windows' and the Dylanesque 'Roosevelt Room' which particularly shines as Conor roars "You know only hate and rage, you paid a dowry for your child bride and now she's living like a slave. A prayer came down the wire it was all in the enemy's code..."
Actually the whole thing reminds me of Dylan's latest effort. A few terrible songs, quite good in places, and one or two great tunes. Those who love Bright Eyes will buy this regardless of what I say, but I see no reason for anyone to buy this who isn't familiar with the delights of Bright Eyes. Go and buy Lifted and be really blown away. One of My Kind is available to watch free online. Watch that instead, and hope a third MVB record isn't on the horizon, and Oberst gets back to doing what he does best. Alone.
Artists in this article: Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Bright Eyes
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