Conor Oberst
Upside Down Mountain
Saddle Creek
It’s been a long time since Conor Oberst first began making angst-ridden teens weep in their black-cloaked bedrooms, pining for release from unrequited love and the pains of adolescence to tunes like “Something Vague” and “A Perfect Sonnet.” Upside Down Mountain is his latest project, and it’s lush with backing instrumentation and vocals, modern and fresh. Oberst’s vocals convey his awkwardly honest lyrics with candor, and the track list offers a good balance of ups and downs. A delicious edition to his discography, Upside Down Mountain will please longtime fans of Oberst, as well as the younger generation of emotionally aware music lovers. —Alysa Offman
This article appears in May 14-20, 2014.
