Conor Oberst Solo Album Laidback But Still Gripping
Two things are mentioned in the press coverage of Conor Oberst’s self-titled new album: that Oberst has shed the Bright Eyes moniker for the first time in more than a decade, and that the album was recorded in sun-dappled Mexico. But there is something else to be highlighted: the eleven excellent songs (plus one interlude) on this tight, purposeful, often downcast but ultimately uplifting album. “Lenders in the Temple,” a hushed, delicately picked lament, is a career peak.

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