Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
 |
Rating: 3 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov |
Outer South is the new democratic mission statement from Conor Oberst, and is his second with the Mystic Valley Band. While Oberst was the singular force behind Bright Eyes, this new album finds him in an overly generous mood, turning 7 of the 16 tracks over to his bandmates.
We’ve seen similar approaches work before – Broken Social Scene and the Traveling Wilburys are both examples of what shared songwriting duties can do for an album. Unfortunately, the rest of the band’s contributions don’t equal that of their fearless leader. The best of the non-Oberst output is ‘Difference is Time’ but even it has a hard time measuring up to the main event.
With that said, even Oberst’s material feels a little bit lacking this time around. ‘To All the Lights in the Windows’ and ‘Roosevelt Room’ are the most familiar thematically, but lack the bile of past efforts. He’s at his best here in slow, quiet mode, as on the stunning ‘White Shoes’ and the Dylan-esque ‘Ten Women.’
Spreading around the duties in the Mystic Valley Band might’ve been good for morale, but here’s to hoping Oberst takes back the reins next time.
