Conor Oberst
Upside Down Mountain
Nonesuch / Warner
Since the release
of his debut solo record, Water, in
1993, Conor Oberst has put out (or at least been directly involved with) some
23 records. Whether as a solo artist, with Bright Eyes, Commander Venus or
Monsters Of Folk (with Jim James, Mike Mogis and M Ward), Oberst has shown he’s
more than comfortable covering a wide range of styles and genres.
His newest
release, Upside Down Mountain, sees
him embrace a warm, Americana aesthetic, no doubt a direct result of working
with producer Jonathan Wilson. Shimmering guitars, his rough-hewn yet oddly
soft vocal, backing from Swedish duo First Aid Kit, all coming together as a
rich, thick whole, evoking images of dark Nashville bars, or old mansions in
Laurel Canyon.
It’s not a
confined record though. A guitar freakout in ‘Zigzagging Toward The Light’; the
crunchy pop of ‘Kick’; the folky, melancholy
‘Artifact 1’, all add something extra to a record which ultimately revolves
around Oberst’s poetic lyricising. All in all, it comes together well,
highlighting once more, his able grasp of all things musical.
3.5/5
Samuel J. Fell
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