Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain (09/08/2014)
Conor Oberst has been involved in numerous projects since Bright Eyes gained the recognition of angsty teens and pessimists alike, from Desaparecidos to Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. Now, following Bright Eyes’ retirement, he has returned with another solo album.
Oberst recruited various friends to assist with the recording and production of Upside Down Mountain, including the Swedish folk-rock sisters from First Aid Kit. The album has a great deal to live up to, most notably the simultaneous release of I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, which marks Bright Eyes’ peak. But does Upside Down Mountain hold up? The first song I heard from the album was ‘You Are Your Mother’s Child’. Its evocative storytelling combined with its restrained simplicity was enough to get me interested in the release. Then the mellow and lyrical ‘Zigzagging Toward the Light’ was unveiled. It was released with a music video that featured an eerie dystopian future narrative arc. This was enough to get me excited. |
As much as it pains me to write this, now that I have listened to the album in its entirety, Upside Down Mountain seems a bit underwhelming. Sure, Oberst mixes the straightforward with the abstract, offers fresh metaphors and similes, comments on and explores society, the flaws associated with being human, and important things such as inequality, but something isn’t quite there. Perhaps it is that Upside Down Mountain as an overall work is less musically interesting, and a bit less raw, when set alongside some of Oberst’s past endeavours.
However, don’t let me discourage you too much. The album is by no means a weak release. I warmly recommend ‘Arifact #1’, ‘Double Life’, ‘Kick’, and ‘Governor’s Ball’. If you enjoy those, or the two tracks which initially drew me to the release, I suggest giving the rest of the album a listen, even if only to prove me wrong.
Nathan Fioritti
However, don’t let me discourage you too much. The album is by no means a weak release. I warmly recommend ‘Arifact #1’, ‘Double Life’, ‘Kick’, and ‘Governor’s Ball’. If you enjoy those, or the two tracks which initially drew me to the release, I suggest giving the rest of the album a listen, even if only to prove me wrong.
Nathan Fioritti