★★★★★
?????????? It's been nearly a decade since Conor Oberst followed up a few preceding years of solid work with his masterpiece, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. That album, released under his Bright Eyes moniker, has stood up nicely over the ensuing years, and continues to be cited time and again by critics and fans alike, as a measuring stick for all of Oberst's subsequent work...
- www.glidemagazine.com
2014-05-23
★★★★★
7
Reviews
Release Date: May 20, 2014Label: Nonesuch
It's useless to use clichés like "return to form" for a talent as inconsistent and impervious to outside influence as Conor Oberst. His finest record is his simplest (2008's Conor Oberst) and his most popular is his most self-involved (2002's Lifted, or the Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground). Such is emo...
- www.spin.com
2014-05-23
★★★★★
Head here to submit your own review of this album.
Since cleaning up his act around the time of Bright Eyes' 2007 album Cassadaga, their leader Conor Oberst has been more prolific than ever, indulging seemingly every whim, while also trying to appease his fans. His best album in the period was his first self-titled solo album from 2008. Since then he indulged himself by releasing Outer South with the Mystic Valley Band which, while sounding fun, seemed to water down his writing prowess...
- www.thefourohfive.com
2014-05-23
★★★★★
To the uninitiated, the recorded output of Conor Oberst can prove both bounteous and overwhelming. He is a teenage prodigy-turned-adult singer-songwriter who has already written hundreds of songs and released nearly two dozen albums over a twenty year period. At the age of 34, he shows few signs of pausing for half time oranges like The Rolling Stones in the 1990s. Nor does he seem likely to embrace the self-reflective mid-career hiatus enjoyed by Stevie Wonder and Eric Clapton...
- thequietus.com
2014-05-22
★★★★★
If Conor Oberst continues to release albums like Upside Down Mountain, then sooner or later he's going to start getting talked about as being one amongst the greats. Because what the ex-Bright Eyes man does on his umpteenth record is re-affirm his often ambivalent personality, one which has come of age over his illustrious 20 year long career.
That personality may not be one which is easily warmed to...
- www.thelineofbestfit.com
2014-05-22
★★★★★
Conor Oberst is only 34 years old. And although his rail-thin frame and boyish face makes him look even younger, it still seems impossible, considering he's spent almost two decades as a renowned recording artist, most notably from elevating himself to indie folk-hero status as the brains behind Bright Eyes. In that time he's worn many different masks: from the gentle, contemplative singer songwriter to the rootsy, stream-of-consciousness dreamer to the ambient, electronic experimenter...
- www.popmatters.com
2014-05-20
★★★★★
Upside Down Mountain is a great album from beginning to end--relaxed, assured and understated in its presentation.
At first it may be hard to figure out what's so appealing about Conor Oberst's latest album. After all, he doesn't have the best singing voice in the world--he's no Jim James when it comes to nailing a vocal. But, his style is honest and convincing, and I like to hear him sing...
- www.pastemagazine.com
2014-05-21
★★★★★
At no point in his ongoing journey from Omaha to enlightenment has Conor Oberst professed to have all the answers. Each of his albums--and he's released a ton, mostly under the Bright Eyes banner--is about struggling to understand God, love, ghosts, politics, outer space, fame, and growing up, and the best he's come up with so far is a strategy. If Oberst can just throw enough words at life's big mysteries, he might hit some hidden bull's-eye and have a revelation...
- www.avclub.com
2014-05-20