A year ago Conor dropped the Bright Eyes for his birth name, ditched Mogis (but not Walcott) for some other dudes, and headed off to Tepoztlán, Morelos, México to make an eponymous LP. It went well, and by November he and his Mystic Valley Band were already playing unreleased material on Conan. Today that decision makes sense: on his site Conor has announced that he and the Mystic Valley Band (Taylor Hollingsworth, Nik Freitas, Macey Taylor, Nathaniel Walcott and Jason Boesel) put new tunes to tape over November and December in El Paso, Texas for a collection titled Outer South and a release date of 5/5 via Merge. And that Conan-debuted tune is on the record. Refresh yourself with “Nikorette”:
You can see Conor and the Mystics at any of the following fine purveyors of live music:
04/09 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
04/10 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
04/11 – Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
04/12 – El Paso, TX @ Barnett Harley Davidson (Hands of Love & Hope Benefit)
04/13 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
04/14 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
04/15 – Pomona, CA @ Glass House
04/17 – Indio, CA (Coachella)
06/18 – Telluride, CO @ Telluride Bluegrass Festival
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My favorite part about Conan’s musical guests is seeing how much taller Conan is than just about every other human being on the planet.
Loved the last album, really excited for the new one.
They performed a lot of new songs in Boston the day after the election. I was surprised by the consistant quality of that material. The last album wasn’t great, but it was definitely very enjoyable. Looking forward to this. Looking forward to the Stripes on Conan even more though. But i guess that’s more immediate gratification.
npr had one of their live concerts on their “all songs considered concert” podcast, it included 2-3 new songs in that show.
Personally, I am psyched for this. The first album was awesome and to be honest, I prefer to most of his Bright Eyes stuff. The new songs I heard live in November also sounded excellent, especially “Nicorette,” love that keyboard. This new stuff is a perfect mix of rock, Americana, folk and country and I think its a good direction for him to be going.
I think his songwriting went in the wrong direction after “I’m Wide Awake..” I look forward to any new stuff regardless, though.
yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes
i miss bright eyes. :[
I’m really excited :]. I hope the track listing comes out soon. I loved Nikorette on Conan. I do hope he goes back to bright eyes soon tho.
awesome. some of the best music coming out right now in my opinion. a lot different and consistently good plus a good live show. needless to say, im definitely looking forward to this new album.
I REALLY hope that song Jason Boesel sings makes it on the album.
love this band, their last album & can’t wait for the new album. I trust Conor & his homies to keep evolving. their live shows are incredible. Breezy & Gentlemans Pact [smoke signals] are super good. The NPR concert podcast someone mentioned earlier – very cool. I’m a big Bright Eyes fan as well. If you miss the days of Lifted, I’m Wide Awake, Digital Ash [yeah!], Fevers & Mirrors, just put those CD’s on and turn it up – I’m betting Conor is NOT gonna put out future Bright Eyes albums that rehash earlier vibes/phases he was in. He’s not a moody teenager anymore. Keep it up Conor & please keep visiting Seattle again & again on your awesome never-ending tour. I’m also waiting for the Conor, M Ward & Mogis supergroup.
that supergroup also includes Jim James and is called Monsters of Folk
This doesn’t sound very promising at all; here’s a review of Outer South that really rips the album apart. Why would Conor Oberst let these songwriters weigh down his record?
http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/blog-2816-conor-obersts-outer-south-not-so-good.html
I personally love the album. The songs sung by other members of the band are in most cases a very nice addition to Conor. Big Black Nothing is one of the best songs on the album, and Air Matress and Snake Hill are fine works by Hillingsworth.
And indeed, as someone else said here before: if you miss the Bright Eyes earlier albums, just play those. They are so perfect, you shouldn’t want Conor to try and relive that sound. He did it, and he did it good. Better than you’d think was possible.