Walking the well-worn road

Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst
Merge, 2008
3.5 stars

Elliot Smith didn’t die – he just skipped the border and started covering Dylan and Springsteen songs. Well, maybe. Recorded in a makeshift studio in the Mexican mountains, Bright Eyes front man Conor Oberst’s eponymous fourth album is his first in thirteen years, and his first ‘solo’ album released on CD. It picks up where Bright Eyes left off, but strips it back to a man-and-his-guitar formula, to great effect on tracks Milk Thistle and album highlight/opener Cape Canaveral. That Oberst grew up in Nebraska is a nice link, as tracks such as I Don’tWant To Die (In The Hospital) have a real Springsteen feel. The Dylan link comes in the form of Get-Well-Cards, a fairly straightforward trip down the well-worn American folk road, and on the bittersweet Lenders In The Temple Oberst’s slightly shaky vocals remind of that of the late, great Elliot Smith. Elsewhere he actually sounds quite like Paul Kelly - strange, considering the different accents. Musicianship and vocals aside though, Oberst’s real skill is good, timeless songwriting – Conor Oberst won’t blow your mind, but it’ll be just as good a listen in ten or twenty years time as it is in 2008.

Published in mX, Thursday August 7, 2008