[Music Review] Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst (2008)

Conor Oberst
Genre : Folk, Ballads
Based in : Omaha, US
Label : Merge Record
Year : 2008
Rate : 9/10
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Conor Oberst, singer-song writer adalah pemuda multi talenta, yang baru saja dinobatkan sebagai the best songwriter of 2008 oleh Rolling Stone Magazine. Dia baru saja merilis proyek solo-self-titled-nya, setelah sebelumnya sempat tergabung pada beberapa band seperti Bright Eyes, Commander Venus, Desaparacidos dan Park Ave (bersama Neely Jenkins dan Jamie Pressnall yang sekarang membentuk Tilly and The Wall). Album solo Conor Oberst ini secara keseluruhan terdengar folk-ballads dengan nuansa sedikit gloomy dan dark.

Karena saya sedang suka menilai sesuatu dengan membandingkan dan membuat kombinasi, maka saya akan mengkombinasikan Bob Dylan dengan Nick Drake untuk menggambarakan musik Conor Oberst. Haha… Don’t take it too deep in your shit. Cape Canaveral yang menjadi track pembuka langsung terdengar muram dengan folk yang minimalis, dingin, psikedelik dan mistik. Haha, the last word is a hyperbolism. Sausalito sedikit menghangtkan dan mencairkan suasana setelah Cape Canaveral, dengan ketukan yang sedikit country. Have I mention bluesy tone in Conor Oberst music? No? Then add it up. Conor Oberst menambahkan sedikit blues pada ramuan musiknya, dengarkan Get-Well-Cards, Moab dan Souled Out!!!

Arena rockabilly-rock n roll juga dikunjungi oleh Conor Oberst pada perjalanan musikalnya yang ia kemas pada album ini. Lebih tepatnya lagi pada lagu I Don’t Want to Die (in a hospital), rasakan kembali rock n roll 60-an yang dibangun oleh dentingan piano pada lagu ini. Namun tetap hidangan utama yang dihidangkan dan dirangkai pada album ini adalah folk-ballads acoustic guitar set minimalist, mengiringi suara Conor Oberst yang bergetar dingin. Dan memang kemampuan menulis lagu dari Conor Oberst adalah kekuatan utamanya. Song crafting skill yang sudah mature, dan pemilihan sound dan arranging yang tidak membabi buta. Terkesan rapih dan profesional. Memang rapih dan profesional kok.
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Conor Oberst, singer-song writer, is a multi-talented guy, that just recently named as the best songwriter of 2008 by Rolling Stone Magazine. He just released his solo-self-titled-project, as previously tracked in several bands such as Bright Eyes, Commander Venus, Desaparacidos and Park Ave (with Neely Jenkins and Jamie Pressnall of Tilly and The Wall). Conor Oberst’s solo album, is an album of folk-ballads with some gloomy and dark feeling through it.


Because this time, I like to rate music as a comparison and combination, so I’d like to combine Bob Dylan with Nick Drake to figure out Conor Oberst’s music. Haha.. Don’t take it too deep in your shit. Cape Canaveral that opened the set, directly feels gloomy with minimalist folk, cold, psychedelic and mystic. Haha, the last word is a hyperbolism. Sausalito make it a bit warmer and fun-after the cold Cape Canaveral- with its country beat. Have I mention bluesy tone in Conor Oberst music? No? Then add it up. Conor Oberst add a little blues into his musical formula, listen to Get-Well-Cards, Moab and Souled Out!!!

Conor Oberst also made a visit to rockabilly-rock n roll arena in his musical journey that packed in this album. Exactly in the song I Don’t Want to Die (in a hospital), sense back the feel of 60’s rock n roll that built upon piano in this song. But still, the main course that served and sequenced in this album is folk-ballads acoustic guitar set minimalist, following Conor Oberst’s voice that tremble-cold. Yet, the magnificent-mature song-crafting skill, with its finest sounding and arranging, is Conor Oberst’s main strength. Sounds like well-prepared and professional. And it is.

Review by: Jay

Tracklist
01. Cape Cañaveral   *YouTube!*
02. Sausalito   *YouTube!*
03. Get-Well-Cards
04. Lenders In The Temple
05. Danny Callahan
06. I Don’t Want To Die (In The Hospital)
07. Eagle On A Pole
08. Moab
09. NYC – Gone, Gone
10. Valle Místico (Ruben's Song)
11. Souled Out!!!   *YouTube!*
12. Milk Thistle