CD Odyssey Disc 1292: Better Oblivion Community Center

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey! This next album is one of 2019’s best. I made a mistake in my initial posting and suggested it was produced by St. Vincent but that was just me getting it confused with another record I was reading up on yesterday (Sleater Kinney's "The Center Won't Hold"). I apologize for any confusion and the review below now gives the record's actual producers the love they deserve.

Disc 1292 is… Self-Titled

Artist: Better Oblivion Community Center

Year of Release: 2019

What’s up with the Cover? Chandeliers are like the distant solar systems of the ballroom.

How I Came to Know It: I read a review and was excited that two artists I already liked (Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst) had done an album together.

How It Stacks Up:  this is the first album by the Better Oblivion Community Center, but I hope it isn’t the last. For now, it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 5 stars

The last few Conor Oberst albums have been pretty much perfect. His last record was 2017’s “Salutations” which I gave 4 stars when I reviewed it back at Disc 1170. It is hard to imagine changing anything that would make his brilliance even better.

The same can be said for fellow singer-songwriter phenomenon Phoebe Bridgers. Her last solo record was also from 2017, “Stranger in the Alps” and while I haven’t reviewed it here’s a spoiler alert: it is also amazing. A bit more pop, a bit less folk, but every bit as brilliant.

Two years later the two of them together have created the Better Oblivion Community Center. The combination is exactly as awesome as you could hope for; they make each other better at every level.

Bridgers and Oberst are cowriters on all but one of the songs. I heard elements of their solo work throughout, but there was also this fantastic middle ground that borrowed from both. It served both their own signature songwriting styles, but also shifted it through collaboration into something beautiful, distinct and altogether new.

Stylistically, I noted how Bridgers helps get Oberst’s rock on. It isn’t like Oberst’s brand of introspective indie folk needed that – it is brilliant all on its own – but it gives the record incredible stylistic range. Oberst’s influence on Bridgers pulls her slightly out of the rock drone of “Stranger…” and helps give punctuation to her style without losing the ambient power that helps make it great.

The two of them sing on most tracks, sometimes one or the other taking the lead, but often blending their voices. Oberst’s high and hurt-filled quaver and Bridgers sweet but sorrowful alt-pop tone blend well. Sometimes they are in tight harmony, and sometimes they’re loose so your ear can go back and forth between the two very different styles, but they are always complementary to one another.

If there is any tension, it is only the tension of songs. Both musicians are adept at venturing out into the land of emotional oblivion, and neither shy away from another journey together. The result are powerfully self-examined songs that put you in the mood for some heavy thinking and dig deep into your soul. Sometimes the songs have narrative structure, but often they are just moments in time that speak to a broader existential or emotional exploration. Sometimes I was drawn into these characters immersing me as I got lost in their journey. Sometimes the songs became the perfect soundtrack to ruminate over Big Questions of my own.

There are too many great lines and moments to quote a single one. Besides, it is better that you experience them as they were meant to be heard, reaching into you with exactly the right musical accompaniment to punctuate each image and thought.

Oberst and Bridgers play the majority of the guitar parts on the record, and they are equally gifted here, switching styles effortlessly as the songs demand. “Dylan Thomas” and “Chesapeake” employ a jangling strum, “My City” features a sublime rolling picking section and “Big Black Heart” has the big emotional echo you might expect on a Cure album. The constantly changing production decisions give the album a constant newness, while always maintaining a cohesive structure.

Which brings us to the production, which is not St. Vincent, but is brilliant all the same. As it happens the best match for these two brilliant artists are...themselves! Bridgers and Oberst produce the record (along with Andy Lemaster, who has previously worked as an engineer and instrumentalist on Oberst's solo albums). Together, they infuse the record with just the right amount of light electronica where the song calls for it, and matched with all that variance in the guitar treatments, your ear is constantly engaged.

Every song on Better Oblivion Community Center is a precious and unique gem, but all form part of a larger piece of jewelry that is greater than the sum of its parts. This is not just a collection of great singles; this is a classic record.

Better Oblivion Community Center already has me wishing fervently for a follow up record where these brilliant musical minds can once again build something beautiful together. Whether that happens again or not, there is no question that Better Oblivion Community Center is one of the best records of 2019.

Best tracks: all tracks – unfortunately there are only 10

CD Odyssey Disc 1170: Conor Oberst

Today I was mistaken for a rock star by a new server at our favourite restaurant. OK – that may be overstating it. She said I looked like “a musician from California” but that’s close enough. I call my style ‘aging rock star’ so it is nice to have an affirmation that people are picking up what I’m putting down. Also, she left out “aging” which was nice.

Disc 1170 is… Salutations

Artist: Conor Oberst

Year of Release: 2017

What’s up with the Cover? Nirvana's "Nevermind" twenty years later and with one less dollar. I wonder how he held his breath that long…

How I Came To Know It: I had liked Conor Oberst’s 2016 album “Ruminations” quite a bit, and while I resisted “Salutations” for a few months (for reasons explored later in this review) I eventually broke down and bought it.

How It Stacks Up:  I have three Conor Oberst albums – his most recent three, in fact. Of those three I must reluctantly put “Salutations” in at…#3. Since this represents my full list of Conor Oberst albums here is a recap:

1. Ruminations: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 1071).
2. Upside Down Mountain: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 961)
3. Salutations: 4 stars (reviewed right here)

Ratings: 4 stars

“Salutations” breaks a lot of my rules for what makes a good album and even invented a new way to annoy me, but I still came away loving it. Rules are well enough, but a love of good music is the one rule that trumps all the others, and this record is loaded with good music.

First, the traditional annoyance: this record has 17 songs, which is way too many songs. Even when the songs are as good as these, I expect an artist to keep things to a maximum of 14 tracks. Anything more and it is just too hard to stay focused.

Now, the new wrinkle: 10 of those 17 songs are repeats from his 2016 album “Ruminations.” On “Ruminations” Oberst went for a stripped down ‘demo’ sound, with just him singing and a single guitar or piano, with a little harmonica here and there. On “Salutations” he has re-recorded all of them with full instrumentation.

The result is a smoother, more polished sound that sometimes had me liking the song more, and sometimes had me longing for the stripped down version on “Ruminations.” While I enjoyed hearing the songs again (“Ruminations” is a 5-star album, so we are talking about a collection of amazing songs) it still felt wrong making me buy them all a second time only a year later. Technically I didn’t have to buy them all a second time, but with seven new songs it was hard to resist.

So how good are the seven new songs? Pretty good, actually. The best of them, “Too Late to Fixate” leads the record off. It is a song about mid-life crisis and desperation. A man decides to meditate to put his mind at ease, but instead his mind wanders through his failing marriage and cheap thrills. The lyrics are a clever mix of awareness, denial and dark humour:

“My wife takes a vacation; one she can’t afford

I go fishing the alleys for someone to escort

No, I don’t mind the money. It beats betting on sports

And though it might get expensive it’s cheaper than divorce

And I love her torn stockings and lipstick of red

Is it too late to fixate on that instead?”

This is brilliant stuff, rich in imagery and speaking to larger, deeper issues that are present in every character Oberst explores. His gift with language is exceptional throughout the album, and put him in the heady company of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and the other greats.

Musically, Oberst is equally gifted. The slow and meandering sway of “Till St. Dymphna Kicks Us Out” perfectly mirrors the experience of too much drinking over way too many hours. Oberst matches his lyrics thoughtfully to the melody as well. At one point near the end of the song he sings:

“Let’s get enabled, great minds think alike

I never was a good judge of when to call it a night.”

Is followed by a walk-down that feels like the song is wrapping up, but instead it lifts up again, whirling through a few more bars, just like our narrator staggers his own way through a few more drinks when he should be calling a cab.

The album has multiple references to the excesses of drugs and drinking, with recurring themes of tipping one back before noon. On “Afterthought” (another excellent “new” tune for this record) Oberst sings:

“I thought about breakfast but settled on wine

Always choose hunger over despair”

And a lot of the songs feature unison background singing, adding a barroom vibe that would make Tom Waits proud.

There isn’t much bad to say about the record, and I’ve deliberately skipped discussing some of the better songs (“Tachychardia”, “Barbary Coast”, “Next of Kin”) simply because I talked about them at length when I reviewed “Ruminations”.

For all that excellence, I was able to find three of the seven new songs (“Napalm”, “Empty Hotel by the Sea” and “Salutations”) that are good but that I could live without. If these were removed, the album would be back down to a tasteful and restrained 14 tracks. Of course, we would have eliminated the title track in the process and what would we call the album then? How about…Ruminations?

If Oberst had really wanted to show the acoustic vs. full production differences of the songs there are other ways to do it. Both Frank Turner (“Positive Songs for Negative People”) and Billy Bragg (“Mr.Love & Justice”) do it by including a bonus acoustic CD in a single package. If he’d done that, “Salutations” would have easily achieved the 5 stars “Ruminations” did – it is that good. But he didn’t, and so I’m going to be a hard ass and drop it down to 4.

However you rank it, “Salutations” is one of the better indie folk album you will ever hear, so don’t let my pet peeves stop you from doing the right thing. Go buy it.

Best tracks: All 10 that are also on Ruminations, plus Too Late to Fixate, Overdue and Afterthought.

CD Odyssey Disc 1071: Conor Oberst

I find myself at the front end of a four day weekend and it feels good. I’ve already wasted the first half my day, sleeping in and waking up groggy and unfocused, but I’m determined not to waste the second. I’ve got the writing bug and I’m going to do something about it, starting right here with this review.

I know this is another five star review – the fifth one in the last 14 albums. I tried to mark it down, I really did, but I just couldn’t help myself. So you’ll just have to forgive me if I once again wax a little poetic – the album was going to anyway.

Disc 1071 is…Ruminations

Artist: Conor Oberst

Year of Release: 2016

What’s up with the Cover? A man, his piano, and his harmonica. That pretty much sums up this album.

How I Came To Know It: I read a review of it somewhere and it sounded interesting. When I listened to it, I really liked what I heard so I did what I do in those circumstances – I bought it.

How It Stacks Up:  I only have two Conor Oberst albums; this one and 2014’s “Upside Down Mountain” (reviewed back at Disc 961). I like them both a whole lot, but I’m going to give the edge to “Upside Down Mountain”.

Ratings: 5 stars

When is lo-fi too lo-fi for its own good? On “Ruminations” Conor Oberst puts that question to the test and then some, combining production so sparse it almost sounds like a series of outtakes and demos with songwriting that is so sublime you forgive him for all the hollowness.

It helps when the song lyrics are wrapped in a thoughtful hollowness themselves. “Ruminations” is an apt name for this record, as Conor Oberst digs deep into himself. He leaves you with the impression of a man tortured by his own relentless need to examine the world in all its dreadful glory, while occasionally retreating into booze or women. Even these retreats are strategic, feeding new perspectives back into his work.

Sometimes the lessons are from Oberst’s perspective, and sometimes he shifts to view the world through characters as self-examined and troubled as he is. Sometimes the line gets so blurred between Oberst and his creations you’re not sure where one ends and the other begins.

Musically all you’re going to get on this record is Oberst’s frail, evocative vocals and either a lone guitar or piano played competently, if a bit rough around the edges. Occasionally he throws in a bit of harmonica, which comes at you like the swell of a full orchestra set against the thin emptiness of the production. “Two instruments!” your ears rejoice, before settling back into the quiet again.

That quiet lets you focus on Oberst’s calm, deliberate delivery. He is like Leonard Cohen with his evocative and deeply personal language, and like Bob Dylan in his keen phrasing and social observation. It is heady company to keep, but Oberst manages it with humility and dignity.

“Ruminations” goes to many a dark place, exploring anxiety, depression, alcoholism and suicide with an unflinching directness. On “Tachycardia” a waitress despairs:

“On a slow day the rain against the windowpane

Of the café she spills the coffee grounds

And the same thought hits her like a cinderblock

Life is an odd job that she don’t got the nerve to quit.”

And on “Barbary Coast” Oberst gives insight into the glare of the world, as seen through the eyes of the artist:

“Tried to lose myself in the primitive

In Yosemite, like John Muir did

But his eyes were blue and mine are red and raw.

“Cause the modern world is a sight to see

It’s a stimulant, it’s pornography

It takes all my will not to turn it off.”

And the loss of a loved one on “Next of Kin”:

“Her bathrobe hangs on the bedroom door

Though she’s been dead for a year or more

He buried her by the sycamore

So that he could keep her close.

It broke his heart, and it made him old

Tries to rebuild but it just erodes

Some people say that’s the way it goes

But he don’t feel that way.”

Yeah, it is grim stuff and the lack of any distraction from the basic melody and the heartfelt delivery makes it even harder to hear. But it also opens your soul, lifting your spirit even as it confronts you with the world and all its awful weight.

Oberst sounds genuinely tortured throughout the record, as he sings about the loss of both innocence and the idols that could help steer you through it. The reference to Christopher Hitchens chokes me up every time I hear it. I miss Hitchens as well.

My one frustration with this record isn’t about the record at all. It’s Oberst’s annoying decision to release full band versions of all the same songs six months later on “Salutations”. I tried to avoid it, but the songs are so damned good now I’ve got to go buy that record as well.

Best tracks: All tracks

CD Odyssey Disc 961: Conor Oberst

Because of my ongoing backlog of new music, I’ve taken to randomly selecting every other album from my “new” (to me) music section. This is about 100 albums that I haven’t given a solid three or more listens to because I keep buying more music sitting sadly lined up along the top of one of the stacks. Alternating between those and the main stacks ensures I’m getting a good mix of newly purchased music and old favourites as I cruise through the Odyssey.

This next album is so new to me I only bought it two weeks ago.

Disc 961 is….Upside Down Mountain

Artist: Conor Oberst

Year of Release: 2014

What’s up with the Cover? I thought an upside down mountain might be a hole. Sheila suggested an iceberg, which I thought pretty clever. Based on the animal paintings, Conor Oberst has gone with a cave.

How I Came To Know It: I was checking out Oberst’s 2016 release “Ruminations” and it made me interested in his back catalogue. This was the album immediately preceding “Ruminations” and the best of what I’ve discovered so far.

How It Stacks Up:  Based on a lot of his other albums I checked out on Youtube, I think “Upside Down Mountain” is one of his best, but for now it is the only album I have and so can’t stack up.

Ratings: 4 stars but almost 5

Conor Oberst is one of those artists that when I finally heard him – not heard of him mind you, but finally listened to him – I wondered how I’d never noticed him before. I’d had plenty of opportunities (one of my old coworkers must’ve sent me one of his songs a half dozen times). I guess that like so many things that are truly beautiful I had to let it come to me at a time when my spirit was quiet enough to properly listen.

This is not to say I like everything Oberst has ever done. The man has ten solo albums and another nine as the principal force behind the band Bright Eyes. That’s 19 albums stretching back almost twenty-five years. I haven’t even begun to explore, although I’ve started with the most recent and am working my way back.

I’m early in that journey and I don’t love everything I’ve heard. I haven’t encountered any clunkers yet, but there are times when Oberst can cross into a saccharine pop where I can’t follow him, even if I can admire what he’s about.

Not so with 2014’s “Upside Down Mountain”. I loved this record from the first time I heard it only a few weeks ago and since then have been reveling in its brilliance. It makes me excited about the journey backward into Oberst’s catalogue.

It has also made it clear that I should be cautious on my journey, and go wisely and slow. Oberst is a true 21^st century poet, and like other greats like Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen his songs are full of dense language and powerful imagery that are best absorbed over a long time and many listens.

Musically, “Upside Down Mountain” is a mix of gentle folk-styled guitar strumming and plucking that gives the album a restful almost new age feel, supported by a backdrop of horn, string and syncopated drum beats that would be equally at home on a jazz record, held tastefully in the back of the mix so as not to disturb the star of the show. The whole package is then dressed up in some up-tempo and very catchy pop sensibilities; the sugary coating that helps all that deep thought go down easier.

The star is Oberst himself. Not so much his vocal prowess, which while it’s a step up from Dylan or Cohen isn’t going to blow you away. Oberst sings prettily enough, but it is his songwriting skills that carry this record.

The musicality on this record is brilliant, with each turn of the melody a perfect match to the story Oberst is telling at the time. Those stories are so personal you’re sure some are pulled from your own life but so universal they leave you feeling comforted that you’re not alone.

“Upside Down Mountain” has songs about getting away from it all, getting back to it all, feeling like you can’t go on and exhortations to do exactly that. Every subject is drenched in evocative language that makes your mind float along on imagery that is often less about a linear narrative as it is about a journey toward spiritual resolution. It would feel like stream of consciousness if the care Oberst puts into the selection of each word weren’t so obvious. Oberst admits to as much in the opening lines of “Zigzagging Toward the Light”:

“I’m blessed with a heart that doesn’t stop

My mind is a weather vane, it spins just like a top

Knows what the winds of fortune bring in the season of the witch

Home is a perjury, a parlor trick, an urban myth.”

Later in the same song he paints love as elusive and beautiful and dangerous:

“True love it hides like city stars

Nothing to gaze upon or contemplate how near or far

If it comes it comes quite unannounced a momentary glance

Lit up by sun or moon or bonfire or ambulance”

If you’re like me and you grew up in a place with no city lights and a field of stars every night, and then moved to the city and marveled at how rare you see only a few, these lines resonate deeply. Getting burned by love a few times helps too.

This is only one example, and the album is packed with songs that reveal Oberst’s own insecurities and let you wallow a little in your own along the way. If he makes you feel a little maudlin from time to time don’t take it to heart, because mostly this record leaves you feeling inspired. It makes you feel like you’re going to make it and maybe this whole crazy human race will as well. There aren’t easy answers, but this record possesses a thread of optimism that is undeniable. As Oberst says:

“There are hundreds of ways

To get through the day

Now you just find one.”

It doesn’t matter which, because one is all you need. Tomorrow’s can even be different if you like.

If I had been able to hear this album when I was 19 it would probably have been a desert island album (it even has a song called “Desert Island Questionnaire”) but whether this record lands at five stars or falls just short is immaterial. There’s always room in my collection for more music, especially when it is this good.

Best tracks: Time Forgot, Zigzagging Toward the Light, Hundreds of Ways, Lonely at the Top, Enola Gay, Double Life, Night at Lake Unknown, Desert island Questionnaire