Connor Oberst – Ruminations
Conor Oberst has been around the indie scene for some time now. Most famously, he’s been the lead man of Bright Eyes since the late ‘90s, in addition to a handful of other collaborations and bands under his belt. But he’s been releasing his own solo material since the age of 13, and now Ruminations is his seventh studio full length, and tenth solo release overall. On his latest record, Oberst sounds incredibly alone, both in tone and in subject matter. Musically, Ruminations is stripped down to almost nothing. With his voice dead center, the only instrumental support comes from an acoustic guitar, and occasional piano or harmonica. Written and recorded over the course of a few days in the middle of winter, the music is a perfect companion for the desolate heft of his words. It’s almost startling in its emptiness, employing a classic folk artist’s process, made in[...]