Album Review: Outer South- Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band

So here I am with Conor's new CD in my hand, yes, I still buy his stuff, because, y'know, it's him. The sleeve is nice, shiny and colourful with lots of posey pictures of them all looking a bit awkward. There's 16 songs on this album, so that's value for money, at least (but how many is he doing the lead vocal on?). The Daily Mail said Conor was in danger of producing 'quantity over quality'. But he's always been prolific. I listened to his last (almost) solo offering in this flat too, so it wasn't so long ago. But I'd rather prolific and a bit shoddy than retired.
Slowly (Oh so Slowly) reminds me of Gentleman's Pact. To All The Lights in The Windows sounds like a soft rock song, like Conor is trying to be Bruce Springsteen, but there are flashes of good stuff. His voice sounds kind of raw and live on it, a bit under produced, which is nice.
The third song has a crossed out title; cute. From the lyrics, I suspect it's really called 'big black nothing'. Uh-oh, it's one of the others singing. I was afraid of this. Actually, it aint too bad.
Air Mattress also has another one singing, but his voice is kind of nasally (and not in a good way) and the song is a bit cliche. It makes me pine for Conor's vocals. Oh god, that guitar solo is unnecessary.
Cabbage Town is pretty good, probably the most Bright-Eyesey yet. I quite fancy going to Cabbage Town. Again, Conor's voice sounds good, a little bit ripped up and echoey. Definitely less studio-fied than on the last solo album.
Ten Women is quite nice, it has a gentle tone to it, and is probably the least country. Difference is Time is good too, even though it's another lead vocal from someone else, his voice is quite nice (although he sounds a little drunk). It's got a kind of Neva Dinova feel too it.
I thought Nikorette was a bit tedious, wasn't that meant to be the single? They always do a duff single! It's just TOO country, that guitar makes me want to puke.
White Shoes (with just Conor singing with a guitar) reminds me of Lime Tree (with a bit of Lenders in the Temple). It's kind of atmospheric but tuneless, like it could be beautiful but doesn't quite find it's feet. It's lyrically gibberish, which I'm sure means something to Conor, but not very much to the listener. The echo on his voice is cool. This will either really grown on me, or just end up leaving me cold.
Bloodline sees one of the others singing. It's OK but goes nowhere; it's country nothingness. Spoiled is quite good, it has a nice pace to it and the lyrics are sweet. It's a bit poppy. Worldwide feels like more interchangeable country; it feels like it should be Conor singing it.
Roosevelt room goes glam rock, which is a bit weird at this point, but at least Conor is shouting a bit, and he sounds angry. I've heard this before live. I absolutely HATE that 70s guitar sound, but at the same time it's good to hear something a bit different, which doesn't say much for the album. This song is too derivative, but the whole album is. It feels like a waste of Conor's genius.
Eagle on a Pole is not as good as Eagle on a Pole which is on the 1st album. Getting sleepy now.
I Got The Reason #2... wasn't this on the last album? When you're doing two songs with the same name and songs with the same name, but version 1 & 2, maybe you are too prolific. I do really like this song, but I know it quite well, anyway. The version I have is quite understated and quiet, but this version is good too, at least he's loud on it. It's probably the best song on the album.
Snake Hill is an awful ending to the album; it's the mega nasally one again. B-side!
Anyway, I've heard this is a grower, so all comments are pretty much null and void until a couple of weeks time. But it felt like a slog. Conor is such a talent; why does he insist on selling himself so short? And with himself, us.

Album review: Cursive- Mama I'm Swollen

Sorry for the blout; my freeview has gone all black so no telly. Watching TV on the computer is all well and good but it's hard to write at the same time as you have to make the screen diddy. So instead I bring you; tunes.
Cursive! Not just a shouty Bright Eyes, although... er, mainly just that. I do like Cursive loads and they have a few EXCELLENT pop songs (Art is Hard, Driftwood, The Recluse- oh fuck I'm like some Morrissey tourist saying they like that one about Hector) but sometimes a whole album can get a bit... SHOUTY!
So let's see if this one bucks the trend. Squealy guitars, check. Er, shouting, check. Quite a good opener, if a bit indistinct. I like his voice, I think it sounds virtually identical to Conor's at times, I think it might be the accent. It's funny though how Conor's shouting is to be encouraged, yet this dude's gets a bit grating. I saw Cursive once, though, and they unexpectedly rolled out all the good shit. They arent as good as The Faint, though (my friend of the burn piano island variety is going to kill me for saying this, but he is hey-ho about Conor, so fuck him!)
I Couldn't Love You sounds peculiarly English; a bit Cure-ish. Donkeys is pretty awful. It reminded me of something, but it wasn't something good (Prince?). I don't think the breathy talking thing works for him like it does for Moz in Sorrow will Come in The End.
This album drags quite badly in the middle, and only a squeaky violin wakes me up. He isn't even shouting. What the fuck?
Mama I'm Satan was the best title and the best song yet, which doesn't say much as it was pretty boring and er... what's another word for shouty?
Sorry if you're a massive Cursive fan, you probably want to bludgeon me. But today I read Q magazine and they gave Lily Allen's album a whole star more than Morrissey's, so imagine how I feel?
Hehe after all that I really liked that last song, which is probably the least Cursivey one. Even the shouty bit was good. Still, it weren't no Staying Alive (the Cursive song, not the Bee Gees hit). But on the whole the album was just too samey. It was like a sanitised Happy Hollow.
Come back Sierra, all is forgiven. (I LOVE Sierra! I love that whole album actually)
PS: what is it with 'mama' at the moment? She's sneaking into all the titles. She hasn't been so popular since the Spice Girls dragged her out.