As Bright Eyes, US indie star Conor Oberst released one of 2007’s best albums in Cassadaga. His comeback, simply titled Conor Oberst, is a solo album featuring simpler country-rock arrangements, although he recorded it with several musicians known as the Mystic Valley Band.
In fact, they shared the limelight with Oberst in Camden — even the drummer got to sing a song.

“Sorry if we all look sick, we are all sick mentally, physically and spiritually,” said Oberst, although he was suffering most. On Gentleman’s Pact, he coughed and cleared his throat and started again.

During Sausalito and Get Well Cards, the rootsy tunes felt unambitious compared with the orchestration of Cassadaga, for which he had a dozen musicians on stage last year. Yet Oberst had something special, an arresting lyric or musical somersault, in almost every song.
Perhaps it was arrogant to focus entirely on new material but over 90 minutes you admired his self-belief, even if he did leave the stage to his friends a few times.

New single Souled Out!!! was delightfully ragged, while I Don’t Want To Die (In The Hospital) showed a sense of humour. The stripped-back Milk Thistle was electrifying, and he was brave to cover blues standard Corrina, Corrina, best known as a Bob Dylan song. But Oberst had no fear and, at 28, it’s easy to imagine him attaining greatness in the years ahead.